U.S. stocks open lower amid rate hike concerns

U.S. stocks opened lower Friday as Wall Street digested rate hike comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer.

Fischer, a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee, said in prepared remarks that he expects U.S. rates to rise gradually.

He added that the U.S. central bank is close to achieving its dual mandate, according to the CNBC.

Early this month, the Fed left interest rates unchanged amid uncertainty about market reactions to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, but signaled that it could raise rates again as soon as December.

Meanwhile, traders continued to assess the economic impacts after Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Analysts thought that the increased prospect of tax cuts and a generally pro-growth set of policies from Trump, aided and abetted by the Republican clean sweep of Congress, are bullish for the stock market.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 2.74 points, or 0.01 percent, to 18,805.14. The S&P 500 fell 3.50 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,163.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14.14 points, or 0.27 percent, to 5,194.65.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average refreshing its intraday and closing records, as investors continued to digest Tuesday's presidential election. Endi