Wall Street opens lower with worries over Fed rate hike

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street opened lower Wednesday with worries that the Federal Reserve could increase its benchmark interest rate next month.

The Dow Jones fell 27 points to begin the day at 18,524. The S&P 500 was down two points to 2,176, while the Nasdaq lost five points to 5,222.

After the New York Fed President William Dudley said Tuesday "it is possible" that the Fed could make a rate hike at its September meeting, the bearish sentiment in the stock market continued on Wednesday morning.

The market and investors will closely watch the minutes from the Fed's July meeting that will be announced later Wednesday.

Any hints or clues by members of the Federal Open Market Committee on the minutes that would support a rate hike decision next month could intensify bearish movement in the stock market.

Meanwhile, almost-a-week long rally in oil prices also ended with the rising possibility of the Fed raising interest rates, which triggered an increase in the value of the U.S. dollar.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $46.43 a barrel – a 0.7 percent loss, and international benchmark Brent crude was up to $49.22 -- down 0.1 percent.