US open: Markets flat as investors await Fed's minutes

US stocks were largely flat on Wednesday as investors moved cautiously ahead of the release of the minutes of the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Just before 10:00 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced 0.51% and 0.67% respectively.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s meeting from 28-29 October could shed some light on the policymakers’ stance in terms of interest rates.

“All in all, the key will be in whether the minutes rubber-stamp the edging up in hawkishness or whether [they] will throw the doves an olive branch,” said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank, in a note.

Construction started on new US homes declined 2.8% in October, the US Commerce Department reported.

The annual rate of total housing starts fell to 1.01m in October, lower than the 1.03m forecast, as the starts rate in buildings with at least five units fell 15.5%.

However, the pace of overall construction starts rose 7.8% year-on-year, showing that the housing market’s rebound looks set to continue.

Lowe’s rose after the home-improvement retailer lifted its sales outlook and its result beat forecast, while Staples gained after announcing its earnings will be as much as 32 cents a share in the fourth quarter, beating the 31 cent estimate by analysts.

Target advanced after better-than-expected third quarter earnings, driven by a faster than expected growth in US sales, while Pet Smart rose after Reuters reported that KKR & Co. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC are planning to bid more than $7.5bn for the pet-care chain.

Cliff Natural Resources fell sharply after announcing it was examining exit options for its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations.

The dollar hit a new seven-year high against the yen but was in retreat against the pound and the euro, while gold futures advanced to $1,197.80.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose four basis points to 2.36%, while the yield on the 30-year note advanced by the same margin to 3.07% and the yield on the five-year Treasuries gained five basis points to 1.65%.

The prices of West Texas intermediate and Brent crude rebounded slightly, with the former trading at just under $75 a barrel and the latter trading at just over $79 a barrel.