Wall Street opens lower on rate hike prospects

US stock indices opened the fourth session of the week lower, resuming the decline that started last Friday, with Dow Jones marking the worst intraday drop in its history on Monday, while S&P 500 marked the worst performance in seven years with a 4% drop amid prospects of a Fed rate hike in March.

Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell to 221 thousand in the week ending February 3 from 230 thousand, beating expectations of 232 thousand, while continuing claims fell by 23 thousand in the week ending January 27 to 1.923 million from 1.956 million, while analysts expected 1.940 million. 

US Senate reached a $300 billion deal on Wednesday for government spending amid efforts to end squabbling on financial issues between Republicans and Democrats, but the deal still faces crucial votes in the House of Representatives before US president Donald Trump signs it into law. 

The White House said the deal includes an extension to the government debt ceiling until March 2019, as Congress now shifts focus to reach a temporary stopgap deal to fund the government until March 23 to avoid a shutdown. 

As of 03:22 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.50%, or 13.36 points to 2,668.30, while Dow Jones slid 0.76%, or 189.67 points to 24,703.68. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ declined 0.28%, or 19.72 points to 7,032.26.