U.S. stocks open lower ahead of Fed minutes

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as investors kept cautious ahead of the highly-watched minutes from Federal Reserve' s July meeting scheduled for release in the afternoon.

As there is no Federal Reserve's policy meeting in August, Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the Fed minutes, which are expected to give more clues on the timing of an interest rate hike.

According to the Fed statement of July' s policy meeting, the country's economy and job market continued to improve since June, a sign that the central bank remains on track to raise interest rate later this year. But it didn't provide a clear signal for the rate hike timetable.

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers increased 0.1 percent in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, below market consensus of 0.2 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 0.2 percent before seasonal adjustment.

The index for all items less food and energy also rose 0.1 percent in July, which increased 1.8 percent for the 12 months ending July.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 135.36 points, or 0.77 percent, to 17,375.98. The S&P 500 lost 11.95 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,084.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 24.70 points, or 0.49 percent, to 5,034.65.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range, as investors pondered over a sharp sell-off in Chinese stock market amid upbeat U.S. housing data. Endi