Stocks open lower on Wall Street ahead of Fed news

Associated Press
FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013, file photo, a television screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange show the decision of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its December policy meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mostly lower in early trading as investors hold back ahead of the release of the latest news from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 88 points, or 0.6 percent, at 16,435 in early trading Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down five points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,831. The Nasdaq composite fell eight points, 0.2 percent, to 4,154.

Telecommunications and energy stocks fell the most.

Ford rose 1 percent after CEO Alan Mulally said he would not leave to run Microsoft.

Later Wednesday, investors will get minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, where officials voted to start pulling back on the bank's economic stimulus program.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.98 percent.