US stock market opens mixed

NEW YORK (AA) - The stock market opened mixed Wednesday as a decline in oil prices was balanced with a rise in consumer price index (CPI).

The Dow added 20 points to begin trading at 20,524.

The S&P 500, however, fell one point to 2,336 and the Nasdaq decreased less than a point to begin the day at 5,781.

CPI rose 0.6 percent in January, after gaining 0.3 percent in December, marking its biggest monthly increase in almost four years, according to the Labor Department earlier Wednesday.

Oil prices, on the other hand, were on a decline at the opening bell.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.3 percent at $52.92 a barrel, and international benchmark Brent crude was trading at $55.67 per barrel -- a 0.4 percent loss.