US: Wall St slips at open on Fed, Ukraine jitters

[NEW YORK] US stock indexes opened lower on Wednesday (Feb 16) after stronger-than-expected retail sales data gave the Federal Reserve more ammunition to tighten policy, while geopolitical tensions over Russian and Ukraine added to caution.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37.01 points, or 0.11 per cent, at the open to 34,951.83.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 15.32 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 4,455.75, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 100.84 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 14,038.92 at the opening bell.