US stock market opens lower

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - The U.S. stock market opened lower Wednesday as investors and the market awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting.

The Dow lost 26 points to begin the day at 18,102 points. The S&P 500 was down a point to 2,135 and the Nasdaq fell nine points to 5,236.

Minutes from the Fed meeting will be announced later Wednesday, indicating the thinking of Federal Open Market Committee on possible interest rate hikes. A favorable view on raising the benchmark interest rate could cause stock market losses, analysts have warned investors.