U.S. stocks open lower ahead of holiday season

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, as trade is expected to be lighter than usual when the Christmas holiday is coming.

On the economic front, U.S. personal income in November increased 54billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent, lower than market consensus of 0.4 percent, according to the Commerce Department Friday.

In November, disposable personal income increased 50.9 billion dollars, or 0.4 percent, and personal consumption expenditures increased 87.1 billion dollars, or 0.6 percent.

U.S. new orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased 3.1 billion dollars or 1.3 percent to 241.2 billion dollars, missing market projection of a 2-percent gain, the Commerce Department said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress earlier this week finally passed the Republican bill to overhaul the three-decade-old U.S. tax code, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk for signature, amid concerns that the change would widen income inequality and swell public debt.

"By cutting taxes and reforming the broken system, we are now pouring rocket fuel into the engine of our economy," Trump said Wednesday in a statement after the final congressional passage of the tax legislation.

Some companies said they would spend the savings from lower corporate taxes on higher wages and new construction.

Investors were optimistic about this, as they bet that lower taxes would boost companies' earnings.

Shortly after Friday's opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 15.98 points, or 0.06 percent, to 24,766.31. The S&P 500 lost 0.81 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,683.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.35 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,953.01. Enditem