Wall Street opens lower dragged by financials

• Falling Treasury bond yields continue to weigh on the financial sector.
• Defensive sectors post small gains in the early trade on Tuesday.

Major equity indexes in the United States started the day modestly lower on Tuesday dragged by heavy losses in the financial shares. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 0.2% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were both down 0.22% on the day.

Hurt by the expectations of the Fed cutting its policy rate in July, the 10-year Treasury bond yield lost more than 1% on Tuesday and dropped below the critical 2% mark, weighing on the rate-sensitive S&P 500 Financials Index, which was last down 0.6% on the day.

On the other hand, the sour market sentiment helps the defensive Real Estate and Consumer Staples post modest gains in the early trade. Later in the session, FOMC Chairman Powell's speech will be watched closely by the participants.