Wall Street stocks retreated on Tuesday after a US court ruling threw fresh uncertainty over President Donald Trump's trade policy.

Trump vowed to immediately seek a Supreme Court ruling after a US appeals court determined on Friday that Trump exceeded his authority in tapping emergency economic powers to impose wide-ranging duties.

Major indices spent the entire session in negative territory with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing at 45,295, down 0.6 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 6,415, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.8 percent to 21,279.

"We're thrown back in that place of uncertainty" regarding trade, said Art Hogan of B Riley Wealth Management.

The court decision, and Trump's appeal, "prolongs the end or the exit from this trade war," said Hogan, dashing hopes the trade war was near "the exit ramp."

Elsewhere, manufacturing industry activity shrunk for a sixth straight month in August, survey data showed, with production pulling back and employment still weak.

Later this week, markets will digest key hiring data for the same month.

Among individual companies, Kraft Heinz slumped 7 percent after the food giant announced plans to split up into two companies. However, Berkshire Hathaway, which holds more than one-quarter of shares, signaled its disagreement with the announcement.

But PepsiCo jumped 1.1 percent after activist firm Elliot Investment Management took a roughly US$4 billion stake in the soda and snacks company. (AFP)