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U.S. stocks open lower amid rate hike concerns

Xinhua, December 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower Wednesday as Wall Street assessed the case of a December rate hike ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

The U.S. central bank will hold its policy meeting on Dec. 13-14. Analysts thought that the Fed raising rates in a week seems a foregone conclusion, but the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may struggle to communicate what it will do next.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, market expectations for a December rate hike were 94.9 percent.

Overseas, the European Central Bank (ECB) gets ready for its policy-setting meeting on Thursday. The ECB is expected to extend its asset purchase program to further stimulate the euro zone economy, amid the political uncertainty in Italy.

On economic front, U.S. job openings and labor turnover survey (JOLTS) is scheduled for release later Wednesday morning.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 10.33 points, or 0.05 percent, to 19,241.45. The S&P 500 fell 1.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,210.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 6.02 points, or 0.11 percent, to 5,326.98.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks extended gains, with the Dow eclipsing previous day's closing record, as investors meditated on a batch of economic reports. Endi