NEW YORK, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- US stocks opened lower on Thursday as investors digested weaker-than-expected economic data while closely monitoring the progress of China-US trade talks.

Traders work ahead of the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City. (File Photo: VCG)

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 24.16 points, or 0.09 percent, to 25,930.28. The S&P 500 erased 4.80 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,779.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 9.89 points, or 0.13 percent, to 7,479.18.   

US existing home sales dropped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units in January, lowest level in more than three years, said the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The drop in January came after months of weakness in the US housing market.

Meanwhile, durable goods orders for December rose 1.2 percent to 254.4 billion US dollars, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. The department also said core capital goods orders fell 0.7 percent.