U.S. stocks opened little changed as European political turmoil and concerns over public finances dampened risk appetite. According to Sina Finance, investors are facing rising bond-market and political risks alongside resilient corporate earnings expectations.

At 9:30 a.m. in New York, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were roughly flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%. Market breadth remains one of investors' biggest concerns, with the share of stocks trading above their 10-day, 50-day, and 200-day moving averages falling to its lowest level since March.

Among the 416 industry groups tracked by Piper Sandler analysts, only nine hit 26-week highs last week, the fewest since March, while 72 groups hit new lows. Piper Sandler chief market technical strategist Craig Johnson said rates and oil prices need to come down, but that has not happened, and market internals are deteriorating.

He added that as participation declines, investors are turning to large, liquid stocks for safety. Strategists at Citigroup and JPMorgan expect strong corporate earnings to continue supporting equities despite heightened bond-market volatility.

JPMorgan's Mislav Matejka said the current environment differs in important ways from the 2022 inflation surge, including a stronger outlook for the technology sector and more favorable wage and labor-market conditions. Citigroup strategists expect stocks to weaken, while U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar rise, as the U.S. midterm elections approach, with those moves likely to reverse after the vote. They also said global stocks could rise about 6% by year-end on earnings growth support.