Wall Street closes lower with Fed rate hike signal

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed lower Tuesday after the Federal Reserve indicated an interest rate hike could come next month.

The Dow Jones fell 84 points to end the day at 18,551. The S&P 500 was down 12 points to 2,178, while the Nasdaq lost 34 points to settle at 5,227.

New York Fed President William Dudley said Tuesday he thinks "it is possible" the central bank would implement a rate hike at its September meeting. "We are edging closer towards the point in time when it will be appropriate to raise rates further,” he said.

The news had no effect on crude oil prices.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $46.65 a barrel – a 2 percent gain, and international benchmark Brent crude was up to $49.26 -- a 1.8 percent increase.