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U.S. stocks open mixed ahead of Fed officials' remarks

Xinhua, November 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened mixed Friday, as investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve officials' comments on the monetary policy and continued to digest remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Several policymakers of the central bank, including Kansas City Fed President Esther George and New York Fed President Bill Dudley, are scheduled to speak Friday.

Yellen said Thursday that it will be appropriate for the central bank to hike interest rates relatively soon, and warned of the risks of keeping rate low for too long.

"The (Federal Open Market) Committee judged that the case for an increase in the target range had continued to strengthen and that such an increase could well become appropriate relatively soon if incoming data provide some further evidence of continued progress toward the Committee's objectives," said Yellen.

Analysts took her comments as a clear indication that the central bank could raise interest rates next month.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a December rate hike were 90.6 percent.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 22.12 points, or 0.12 percent, to 18,881.70. The S&P 500 lost 0.59 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,186.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.21 points, or 0.10 percent, to 5,339.18. Endi