US dip lower on Friday, still set to post strong weekly gains

Following three consecutive days of gains, US equity markets took a pause and opened slightly lower on Friday but remained on track to post strong weekly gains on the back of Fed's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40 points to 18,353, while the broader S&P 500 index lost 7 points to 2,170. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index lost 17 point to 5,323.

No major economic releases were scheduled for release today and hence, bulls took a breather that might lead to a muted trading action on the final day of a busy week. 

Later during the day, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester are due to speak on a panel. Meanwhile, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is expected to take part in the Q&A session at an energy industry forum in Texas.

In other asset classes, WTI crude oil retreated a bit as traders seemed reluctant to carry big bets ahead of the OPEC meeting this weekend. Meanwhile, gold traded modestly lower, while the greenback (as measured by the US Dollar Index) attempted a tepid recovery.