US stocks edged lower with the S&P 500 facing technical resistance near its record high, while economic data continued to be blurred by extreme weather.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee’s most recent meeting, which showed Fed officials were nearing a decision how to adjust a promise to keep interest rates low for a while to come, didn’t give the market clear direction either.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.93 points or 0.1 percent, to 16,114.47, the S&P 500 lost 4.25 points or 0.23 percent, to 1,836.51 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.071 points or 0.49 percent, to 4,251.712.
The S&P 500 set an all-time intraday high of 1,850.84 on Jan. 15, and came within 4 points of that level at its session high on Wednesday. The Nasdaq was on track to halt an eight-day string of gains.
European shares pared early losses in late trade, tracking a rally in Wall Street, with WM Morrison gaining in the afternoon after a report that the grocer may be taken over by private-equity firms.
The FTSEurofirst 300 mounted a recovery in thin volumes to close up 0.1 percent at 1,338.67, as Wall Street turned higher after a cautious start before US Federal Reserve minutes were released.
The market was in negative territory for most of the day, pulling back from overbought conditions. It closed up 0.1 percent at 3,120.80.
Seamless steel tube maker Tenaris fell 6.4 percent to the bottom of the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index after US trade authorities decided not to impose tariffs on South Korean imports of oil and gas pipe. French peer Vallourec fell 4.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average fell retreating from a 2-1/2-week high hit the previous day, as investors took profit on banks and exporters a day after it had logged its biggest percentage gain in six months.
The Nikkei shed 0.5 percent to 14,766.53 after a 3.1 percent rise on Tuesday, which took it to the highest close since Jan. 31. The Topix shed 0.5 percent to 1,218.52.
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