Stocks Opened Lower Weighed by Fresh Drop in Oil

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as slumping oil prices weighed down energy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately slipped 45.98 points, or 0.26%, to 17,536.59. The S&P 500 fell 7.02 points, or 0.34%, to 2,042.78. The Nasdaq Composite was down 24.93 points, or 0.52%, to 4,796.73.

Oil futures fell on Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to U.S. data on oil stockpiles and an upcoming meeting of major oil suppliers. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $40.98 a barrel, down 47 cents, or 1.1%. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 43 cents, or 1%, to $41.35 a barrel.

Four of the 17 members of the Federal Open Market Committee have now publicly indicated their disagreement with the dovish guidance in last week’s policy statement and in comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen at her press conference. The latest dissenter is Patrick Harker, the new president of the Philadelphia Fed, who said in a speech Tuesday night that the Fed should “get on with” rate hikes and consider another move in
April.

The dollar crept towards its strongest week in a month on Wednesday as markets rethought the outlook for U.S. interest rates after a series of Fed officials encouraged expectations of at least two more quarter point rises this year.

General Mills Inc. (GIS) reported Wednesday fiscal third-quarter earnings that rose to $361.7 million, or 59 cents a share, from $353.8 million, or 56 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales fell to $4 billion from $4.35 billion.

Nike Inc. said its revenue rose 7.7% and profit climbed in the latest quarter, helped by what the company said was robust growth across its business lines. Revenue increased to $8.03 billion for the three-month period ended Feb. 29, from $7.46 billion a year earlier.