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U.S. stocks traded lower Wednesday as the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s May meeting raised concerns of persistent inflation,
indicating the central bank may not cut interest rates soon.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave up 201.95 points to wrap up Wednesday at 39,671.04, for the index’s worst session this month.
The S&P 500 recovered 14.4 points to 5,307.01.
The NASDAQ sank 31.08 points to 16,801.54.
Minutes from the April 30-May 1 policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee released Wednesday stated a lack of progress in recent months toward lower inflation. The minutes also showed “various participants” discussed a willingness to hike rates if inflation didn’t keep moving lower toward its 2% goal.
Investors also looked ahead to the widely anticipated release of Nvidia’s latest earnings report. The chipmaker dropped 0.5% Wednesday ahead of its quarterly earnings results after the bell. Analysts are expecting another strong quarter from the chipmaker. LSEG data shows consensus estimates call for earnings per share and revenue to have risen 400% and 240% year on year, respectively.
Target shares fell 8% on weaker-than-expected earnings, with management citing weaker spending trends in discretionary categories. The retailer’s troubles raised broader concerns about consumer spending.
Existing home sales unexpectedly fell in April, indicating a potential cooldown in the housing market. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected home sales to rise during the month.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slipped a bit, raising yields to 4.43% from Tuesday’s 4.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid $1.33 to $77.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $43.80 to $2,382.10.
