US: Wall St opens lower as strong retail sales data adds to rate hike fears

WALL Street’s main stock indexes opened lower on Wednesday (Feb 15) after stronger-than-expected retail sales data underscored a resilient US economy, which could offer more room for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80.64 points, or 0.24 per cent, at the open to 34,008.63.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 16.63 points, or 0.40 per cent, at 4,119.50, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 55.02 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 11,905.12 at the opening bell. REUTERS