U.S. stocks open lower as oil retreats

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as oil prices tumbled again after previous day' s solid gains.

In a light week of economic reports, the volatility in oil prices dominated market sentiment.

Both the U.S. oil and Brent crude traded over 2 percent lower in early trading Wednesday as the global supply glut continued to weigh on the market.

As it will take years to wash out the whole supply in oil market and reach the balance point where supply meets demand, many analysts do not expect oil prices will recovery soon.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks posted solid gains as Wall Street cheered over a recovery in oil prices amid positive data in a holiday-shortened week.

Analysts attributed some of Tuesday's gains to a so-called Santa Rally, which roughly spans the last five to seven days of December.

Since 1928, the S&P 500 has managed an average gain of 1.3 percent in the last five trading days of the year, rising 76 percent of the time.

The U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday for New Year's Day.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.58 points, or 0.28 percent, to 17,671.40. The S&P 500 lost 5.68 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,072.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 11.68 points, or 0.23 percent, to 5,096.26. Endi