Wall Street drops as oil slides

NEW YORK (AA) - The US stock market opened with losses Friday amid an increased likelihood of a Fed rate hike and declining oil prices.

The Dow Jones was down 38 points to 18,768. The S&P 500 decreased seven points to 2,159 and the Nasdaq lost 24 points to 5,184.

The Fed's Vice President Stanley Fischer said earlier Friday that "the case for removing [the bank's] accommodation gradually is quite strong."

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent, leading to losses in Wall Street.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was trading at $43.68 a barrel with a 2.4 percent loss. Brent crude was at $44.94 per barrel -- a 2.2 percent decline.