US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens lower as strong retail sales dash hopes of early rate cuts

Wall Street's main indexes fell at the open on Wednesday, as investors scaled back hopes of an early start to interest-rate cuts after data showed retail sales in December surpassed expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.26 points, or 0.21%, at the open to 37,281.86. The S&P 500 opened lower by 26.85 points, or 0.56%, at 4,739.13, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 129.58 points, or 0.87%, to 14,814.77 at the opening bell.