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U.S. stocks open lower ahead of Fed minutes

Xinhua, July 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited Federal Reserve minutes and digested a slew of economic data.

The June minutes will be perused for indications of the Fed's concerns over recent weakness in the U.S. economy and the Brexit referendum, Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, said Wednesday.

On the economic front, U.S. goods and services deficit was 41.1 billion U.S. dollars in May, up 3.8 billion dollars from a revised reading in April, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. services PMI Business Activity Index registered 51.4 in June, slightly higher than market consensus of 51.3.

Meanwhile, traders will keep a close eye on Friday's non-farm jobs report this week for more clues on the central bank's next rate hike.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 74.78 points, or 0.42 percent, to 17,765.84. The S&P 500 lost 9.97 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,078.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 31.01 points, or 0.64 percent, to 4,791.89.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, snapping a four-session winning streak, as Wall Street shifted its focus from Brexit to the uncertainty over the timing of a next rate hike. Endi