NEW YORK, Dec 10 — Wall Street stocks were mixed early today as US markets sought to recover from last week’s rout amid worries over trade wars and slowing US growth.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent at 24,331.19.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,630.96, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent to 7,002.90.

Major US indices had fallen the most last week since March.

Key data releases this week include consumer prices and retail sales. Analysts broadly expect the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates later this month but believe the Fed could signal a pause on further rate increases.

Apple dipped 1.3 per cent after US chipmaker Qualcomm said a Chinese court had ordered a ban on Apple iPhone sales due to a patent dispute between the companies. Qualcomm rose 2.8 per cent.

Facebook jumped 3.4 per cent following an announcement that it would increase its share buyback program by US$9 billion, boosting the social media company at a time when it has faced criticism over its data privacy policies and other issues. — AFP