4:19pm: Benchmarks take a turn for the worse
The Dow closed Wednesday 181 points, 0.5%, at 34,766, the Nasdaq Composite declined 156 points, 1.2%, to 13,475 and the S&P 500 lost 34 points, 0.8%, to 4,404. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 23 points, 1.2%, to 1,873.
A selloff reversed an initially positive session following the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which indicated more interest rate increases could be on the horizon.
“With inflation still well above the Committee’s longer-run goal and the labor market remaining tight, most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy,” the meeting summary stated.
Meanwhile, shares of Target rose 3% and Progressive jumped 9% on earnings results.
12:45pm: Biding time
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) drifted lower, following the other main US indices, as investors marketed time ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) most recent meeting, which will provide more detail about expectations for monetary policy for the rest of the year. The minutes are scheduled for release at 2pm ET.
Shortly after midday, the Dow was 4 points, or less than 0.1%, down at 34,942, the S&P 500 was 0.2% lower at 4,429 and the Nasdaq had lost 0.6% to 13,545.
"The minutes of the FOMC's last meeting will likely re-iterate the Fed's ongoing hawkish rhetoric, judging by the fact that recent comments from several FOMC officials have not been too dissimilar to pre-FOMC," commented Fawad Razaqzada|, market analyst at City Index.
9:40am: Wall Street mixed ahead of FOMC minutes
US markets were mixed on Wednesday looking for inspiration to take positions ahead of the FOMC minutes later in the session.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 36.90 points, 0.1%, at 34,983.29, the S&P 500 was flat at 4,436.35 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 55.14, 0.4%, at 13,575.90.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank thinks the FOMC minutes "will likely show that the Fed officials remain cautious despite the latest fall in inflation numbers, for the same reasons: rising energy and food prices that are sometimes driven by geopolitical events and that the Fed could only watch and adopt."
"The Fed is expected to hold fire on its rates in the September meeting, but nothing is less guaranteed than the end of the tightening cycle before the year end," she added.
In company news, shares in Tower Semiconductor Ltd tumbled 10% after its $5.4 billion deal with Intel collapsed after failing to win Chinese regulatory approval in time.
Big-box retailer Target jumped 3.3% after reporting better-than-expected second quarter profit supported by improved margins.
But the Minneapolis-based retailer lowered full guidance for sales and earnings on the "anticipation of continued near-term challenges on the topline."
Economic data out today saw housing starts rise 3.9% month-over-month to 1.45 million in July, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, above consensus estimates of 1.44 million.
Meanwhile, building permits rose 0.1% from the prior month to 1.44 million in July, in line with the 1.45 million consensus.
7:00am: Wall Street seen flat with FOMC minutes to come
US futures edged higher, after a torrid session on Tuesday, ahead of the release of minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while contracts for the Nasdaq 100 futures also rose 0.1%.
Joshua Mahoney at Scope Markets commented that “markets appear to be in a more upbeat mood today, with slight gains in Europe expected to translate into a positive open in the US.”
At their last meeting the Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 25 basis points taking borrowing costs to their highest level in 22 years.
UBS strategists expect the July FOMC meeting minutes to be replete with "data dependence," and that policy decisions going forward should be made "meeting-by-meeting," even if most participants at the time still thought another increase in the target range might be appropriate.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) shares are 2.1% lower in pre-market trading after it cut annual revenue guidance, as the company grapples with "challenging" market conditions.
The Santa Clara, California-based analytical and clinical laboratory technologies provider said the tricky market backdrop is only "transitory", however.
In results released after the closing bell Tuesday, Agilent said revenue in the three months to July 31 fell 2.7% year-on-year to $1.67 billion from $1.72 billion.
Elsewhere, Intel Corp and Israeli contract chipmaker Tower Semiconductor's proposed $5.4 billion deal has been mutually terminated as they were unable to get timely regulatory approvals.
Intel is to pay $353 million to Tower after the decision which sent shares in Tower Semiconductor Ltd down 11.5% in pre-market trading.
Retail will remain in the spotlight following strong retail sales figures on Tuesday and better-than-expected results from Home Depot.
Today, it is the turn of Target while switching sectors Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) reports after the closing bell.