Wall Street opens slightly lower as banks weigh

REUTERS - U.S. stocks opened lower for the first time in the new year on Thursday due to a drop in financials as investors assess economic data and the Federal Reserve's thoughts on President-elect Donald Trump's policies.

At 9:38 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.72 points, or 0.04 percent, at 19,933.44, the S&P 500 was down 1.39 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,269.36 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 8.07 points, or 0.15 percent, at 5,485.07.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)