U.S. stocks open lower after Fed Beige Book

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as investors continued to digest the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

U.S. economy reported modest growth in April through mid-May, and the tight labor market is pushing up wage and price pressures, according to the Fed's latest Beige Book released Wednesday afternoon.

The Beige Book, which gauges its 12 districts' economy, showed that most districts reported modest economic growth in April and mid-May, supported by growth in consumer spending and real estate activities.

Fed officials have said that they expect to raise interest rates in the coming months, if the economy continues to improve. The central bank's policy making Federal Open market Committee is to meet on June 14 to 15 to discuss whether to raise rate or not.

The uncertainty over the timing of a next rate hike has weighed on market sentiment recently.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 173,000 jobs from April to May, slightly below market consensus of 175,000, said the May ADP National Employment Report Thursday.

Meanwhile, in the week ending May 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 267,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level, announced the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.71 points, or 0.37 percent, to 17,722.96. The S&P 500 lost 6.64 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,092.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 13.91 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,938.35. Endi