Markets slide ahead of crucial eurozone summit

US markets opened lower today as investors remained cautious on tomorrow's European summit aimed at solving the sovereign debt crisis.

A Eurofin meeting of 27 EU finance ministers scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled, although the key summit for political leaders is set to go ahead as planned.

However, markets are volatile with investors fearing leaders may not come up with a credible solution to the crisis.

The S&P 500 fell 0.92% or 11 points to trade at 1,242 at the start of the session, while the Dow Jones slipped 1.19% or 142 points to 11,771.

Markets were also digesting mixed third quarter earnings reports from the US corporate sector.

UPS missed analysts’ expectations, while Xerox and and DuPont surprised on the upside.

Traders are now looking to today’s macroeconomic news, including an update on US consumer confidence for October and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index.

The falls follow gains on Monday which helped US shares achieve a total rise of 11% so far in October, almost the best monthly gain since 1991.

Recent rallies have almost wiped out this year's decline in the US' leading index.

Meanwhile, in London, shares reversed earlier gains as European worries mounted.

The FTSE 100 was off 0.94% or 52 points to 5,495, and the All Share was 0.87% lower at 2,836, while leading indices in Europe were also in the red.