• Wall Street's main indexes inch lower at the start of the week.
• Energy stocks post strong gains on rising crude oil prices.
• Trading action is likely to remain subdued in the remainder of the day.

Major equity indexes opened modestly lower on Monday as trading conditions remain thin due to the Columbus Day holiday in the US. As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.1% on the day at 4,388, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 34,730 and the Nasdaq Composite was losing 0.1% at 14,562.

Among the 11 major sectors, the Energy Index is rising 1% after the opening bell supported by a more-than-2% increase seen in US crude oil prices. On the flip side, the risk-sensitive Communication Services Index is losing 0.65%. 

Wake Up Wall Street: Slow jobs, slow growth, slow markets.

There won't be any high-tier data releases featured in the US economic docket on Monday and the trading action is likely to remain subdued.

S&P 500 chart (daily)