NEW YORK, July 5 — Wall Street’s main indexes slipped today as investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June meeting for clues on the central bank’s monetary policy path, while Sino-US tensions and weak economic data from Beijing dented sentiment.

Investors are focused on the Fed minutes, expected to be released around 2pm ET, as they resume trading after the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Bets for a 25-basis-point rate hike in July stood at 83 per cent, while traders have priced in a 32 per cent chance the US central bank would deliver another hike by October, according to Refinitiv data.

"There is going to be a little bit of dissension among the ranks and the overall tone will be let’s see how this plays out,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

"Stocks have accounted for another 25 basis point rate hike when the Fed meets later this month, but a lot of people are divided on whether or not there’s going to be another rate hike (after July).”

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell in early trading with material shares leading declines, down 1.7 per cent, while financials lost 0.9 per cent.

Traders also await US factory orders data, due at 10am ET, to gauge the impact of higher rates on the economy after a survey showed on Monday manufacturing slumped in June.

More economic data, including the non-farm payrolls report on Friday, is scheduled for release later this week.

Chip stocks such as Nvidia and Micron Technology fell 0.7 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively, after China said it would control exports of some metals widely used in the semiconductor industry as tensions between Beijing and Washington rise over access to high-tech microchips.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index lost 0.9 per cent.

Shares of Wolfspeed gained 12.8 per cent after the company signed a 10-year silicon carbide wafer supply agreement with Renesas Electronics Corp.

US main indexes kicked off the third quarter with slim gains in a holiday-shortened session on Monday, led by Tesla after the electric-vehicle company posted record second-quarter deliveries.

At 9.48am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 147.62 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 34,270.85, the S&P 500 was down 11.10 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 4,444.49, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 6.07 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 13,810.71.

China’s June services activity expanded at the slowest pace in five months, raising concerns about global economic recovery, a private-sector survey showed.

Among other movers, Netflix gained 1.8 per cent as Goldman Sachs raised its rating and price target.

United Parcel Service slid 2.1 per cent after the Teamsters Union and the postal service operator accused each other of walking away from negotiations.

Moderna rose 4.4 per cent after the drugmaker signed an agreement to work towards opportunities to research, develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in China.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 6 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 21 new lows. — Reuters