three major US stock indexes opened lower collectively, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.35%, the S&P 500 down 0.10%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.20%. Gold and silver stocks mostly fell, with Hecla Mining down over 5% and Pan American Silver down over 3%. Defense stocks performed strongly, with Lockheed Martin up over 6% and Raytheon Technologies up over 2%.