S&P 500 Index opens lower, tests 3,600

• Wall Street's main indexes opened in the red on Tuesday.
• Falling crude oil prices weigh on energy stocks.
• All major sectors of the S&P 500 edge lower. 

Major equity indexes in the US started the day lower as the vaccine-inspired rally seems to have lost its steam. As of writing, the S&P 500 was down 0.86% on the day at 3,595, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 1.3% 29,560 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 0.13% at 11,994.

Reflecting the cautious market mood, the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is rising nearly 5% after the opening bell.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is down 2.5% pressured by a more-than-1% decline in crude oil prices. 

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Census Bureau showed that Retail Sales in October increased by 0.5%. This reading fell short of the market expectation of 0.5% and didn't allow the market sentiment to improve. Later in the session, investors will be watching FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell's speech closely. 

S&P 500 chart (daily)