U.S. stocks open lower

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, as investors took a pause from a record-setting rally that kicked off this year.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 41.46 points, or 0.16 percent, to 25,254.41. The S&P 500 lost 4.92 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,738.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 7.95 points, or 0.11 percent, to 7,128.61.

U.S. equities surged for the last week, with all three major indices refreshing their closing records several times, as investor sentiment was buoyed by the prospect of a U.S. corporate tax-cut package and generally upbeat economic data.

All three major indices also broke key milestones the first trading week of 2018, as the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed above 25,000, 2,700 and 7,000, respectively, for the first time ever.

"U.S. equity markets have risen due to positive U.S. payrolls and manufacturing data in addition to benefits from corporate and individual tax reform," Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer of the U.S. Krane Funds Advisors, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a 1.5-trillion-U.S. dollar tax cut bill into law later last month, which became effective from January 2018. The tax bill, the sweeping rewrite of U.S. tax law since 1986, cut the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and lowered individual income rates.

Traders will focus on the fourth-quarter earnings season, which is set to begin this week. J.P. Morgan Chase, BlackRock, and Wells Fargo are among the companies scheduled to release financial results. Enditem