(Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell over 1% on Tuesday as investors assessed subdued factory activity data ahead of a slew of labor market reports due through the week that could influence the extent of monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve.
A gauge of U.S. manufacturing edged up in August from an eight-month low in July amid some improvement in employment, but the overall trend continued to point to lackluster factory activity.
The S&P 500 industrials sector (.SPLRCI) fell more than 1.6% on Tuesday, with stocks such as Caterpillar (CAT.N), new tab and 3M (MMM.N), weighing on the blue-chip Dow as well.
"The softer PMI surveys that were released this morning really accelerated a little bit of profit-taking that had played out," said Josh Jamner, investment strategy analyst at ClearBridge Investments.
"If we're rooting for a soft landing over recession, it's certainly not what we hoped to see. However, when it comes to a Fed rate cut cycle, Friday's employment data will be much more important."