Stocks Opened Lower as Apple Weighed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, weighed down by a drop in Apple shares and heightened expectations of another interest rate hike this year following comments from a Federal Reserve official. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 15.70 points, or 0.07%, to 22,333.89. The S&P 500 lost 2.56 points, or 0.10%, to 2,499.66. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 35.50 points, or 0.55%, to 6,391.42.

Brent crude prices continued to march higher Monday amid a growing market consensus that OPEC will likely extend its production-cut deal. November Brent climbed 51 cents, or 0.9%, at $57.37 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate oil for October was flat at $50.66 a barrel.

The Federal Reserve is on track to gradually raise interest rates given factors depressing inflation are “fading” and the U.S. economy’s fundamentals are sound, an influential Fed policymaker said on Monday.