Wall St opens slightly lower after data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Wednesday as the latest economic data came in below expectations, giving investors further reasons to take profits amid ongoing tension in Iraq.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 8.16 points or 0.05 percent, to 16,809.97, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 1.81 points or 0.09 percent, to 1,948.17 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 8.78 points or 0.2 percent, to 4,341.58.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)