US close: Markets mixed as Fed hints at hike
US stocks finished mixed on Wednesday after of the publication of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed the next rates rise could be just around the corner.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.16% higher at 20,775.60, the S&P 500 fell 0.11% to 2,362.82, and the Nasdaq 100 added 0.03% to 5,352.13.
On Tuesday, all three indices closed at fresh records, boosted by a strong showing in the retail sector after well-received earnings from Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Macy’s.
Meanwhile, oil prices retreated with West Texas Intermediate down 10.8% to $53.90 a barrel and Brent crude 0.96% lower at $56.12.
Investors were busy sifting through the minutes from January’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting late in the session, which showed officials spent their time looking into the change of administration in the White House.
The policymaking committee discussed the impact Donald Trump’s promise of looser regulation, lower tax and higher spending in the domestic economy would have.
“Many participants expressed the view that it might be appropriate to raise the federal funds rate again fairly soon, providing data on jobs and inflation werere "in line with or stronger than their current expectations,” the summary read.
The minutes said that a number of members believed hiking rates at an “upcoming” meeting would give the central bank more flexibility to respond to higher-than-expected economic growth.
On the corporate front, Toll Brothers gained 6.06% despite posting a 3.8% fall in quarterly profit, but the housebuilder also lifted its delivery forecast.
Dish Network lost 0.67%% after the satellite TV provider swung to a third quarter profit, beating expectations.
Bristol-Myers Squibb edged up 1.04% following a report that Carl Icahn has bought a stake in the pharmaceuticals company.
Solar panel maker First Solar was 8.33% weaker despite posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and sales late on Tuesday.
After the close, results were due from Tesla, Square, Fitbit, HP and L Brands.
On the data front, sales of US existing homes rose more than expected in January, to a 10-year high.
Sales were up 3.3% to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 5.69m from an upwardly-revised 5.51m in December 2016.
That was ahead of analysts’ expectations for a more modest increase to 5.54m.
The January sales pace was 3.8% higher than a year ago and above November 2016.
Dow Jones - Risers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $79.80 3.39%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.24 1.53%
3M Co. (MMM) $186.04 1.46%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $181.15 0.49%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.67 0.49%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $71.71 0.36%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.60 0.34%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $137.11 0.30%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $121.90 0.29%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $145.25 0.16%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.07 -1.23%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $110.38 -1.20%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.93 -1.17%
General Electric Co. (GE) $30.32 -0.62%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $65.29 -0.29%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $91.44 -0.25%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $64.36 -0.20%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $127.85 -0.15%
American Express Co. (AXP) $79.86 -0.14%
Visa Inc. (V) $87.80 -0.14%
S&P 500 - Risers
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $54.15 7.33%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $63.67 4.00%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $79.80 3.39%
VF Corp. (VFC) $53.50 2.06%
Aetna Inc. (AET) $128.78 1.94%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $136.12 1.79%
Newell Brands Inc (NWL) $47.25 1.63%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.24 1.53%
Staples Inc. (SPLS) $9.48 1.50%
Southern Co. (SO) $48.98 1.47%
S&P 500 - Fallers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $33.57 -8.33%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $39.04 -8.05%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $36.00 -3.85%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $15.76 -3.79%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $82.23 -3.47%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $16.78 -3.34%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $28.00 -3.01%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $60.56 -2.98%
Kroger Co. (KR) $33.23 -2.89%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $43.76 -2.89%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $51.64 7.14%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $20.54 4.21%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $304.07 3.62%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.15 2.18%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $136.12 1.79%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $113.82 1.27%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $100.42 1.21%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $47.59 1.13%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $45.98 1.05%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $120.56 0.97%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $82.23 -3.47%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class A (LILA) $26.50 -3.11%
Liberty Global Plc Lilac Class C (LILAK) $26.37 -3.05%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $45.55 -2.75%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $98.34 -2.46%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $36.63 -2.19%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $93.36 -1.59%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $35.75 -1.57%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $78.54 -1.53%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $273.51 -1.40%