US stocks opened in negative territory Wednesday after the government reported consumer prices in a record plunge in October, highlighting slowing demand in the world`s largest economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 20.15 points (0.24 percent) to 8,404.60 in opening trade and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.66 points (0.25 percent) to 1,479.61.

The broad Standard & Poor`s 500 index retreated 1.73 points (0.20 percent) to 857.39.

On Tuesday the major indices made modest gains after a late-session surge, a day after heavy losses. The Dow rose 151.71 points (1.83 percent) to 8,424.75, the Nasdaq was up 1.22 points (0.08 percent) at 1,483.27 and the S&P 500 index advanced 8.36 points (0.98 percent) to 859.11.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that US consumer prices plunged 1.0 percent in October, the steepest fall since the data was first published in 1947.

`Overall, there just isn`t much in the way of good fundamental news to get the market out of its current funk. Hence, there remains a strong inclination to sell into strength,` said Patrick O`Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.