(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- Stocks on the Chinese mainland, known colloquially as A-shares, opened slightly lower this morning after the United States Federal Reserve's target rate hike pushed down American stock indexes.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.2 percent lower at 2,544.51, while the Shenzhen Component Index started the day at 7,402.2, down 0.22 percent. The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, started the day 0.16 percent down at 1,266.76.

The Fed raised its target rate range by 25 basis points to between 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent yesterday, prompting the US Dow Jones Industrial Average Index to close 1.49 percent down at 23,323.66 and the S&P500 to lose 1.54 percent, finishing the day at 2,506.96. The Nasdaq Composite also closed 1.49 percent lower at 6,636.83.