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U.S. stocks open lower amid economic data

Xinhua, April 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks on Tuesday opened lower than market consensus, as investors pondered over the newly-released economic data.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that the goods and services deficit decreased by 4.6 billion U.S. dollars from 48.2 billion dollars in January to 43.6 billion dollars in February, below market consensus of 44.5 billion dollars.

February figures for factory orders are due later in the morning.

Meanwhile, traders eagerly anticipated the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting scheduled on Wednesday afternoon for more clues on the pattern of rate hikes.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14.84 points, or 0.07 percent, to 20,635.37. The S&P 500 lost 4.00 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,354.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 9.16 points, or 0.16 percent, to 5,885.52.

U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range on Monday, the first trading day of the month and the start of the second quarter, as Wall Street digested a batch of economic reports. Endi