US stocks were down slightly following minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting as investors weighed expectations of when US interest rates may rise.
Minutes of the US central bank’s Oct. 28-29 meeting, where policymakers decided to finally end their bond-buying stimulus, indicated a debate among policymakers over the outlook for inflation and the economy.
Following the release of the minutes, US short-term interest-rate futures traders were still betting on a first Fed rate hike by September next year.
Tech names were among the biggest drags on the market, with shares of Microsoft down 1.3 percent, weighing on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, and shares of Qualcomm down 2.1 percent. Qualcomm on Wednesday gave a more conservative five-year outlook than in the past.
Stocks briefly pared losses following the minutes but then resumed their downward course, with the S&P 500 and Dow retreating from Tuesday’s record closing highs.
At 2:54 pm, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.77 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,660.05, the S&P 500 lost 5.76 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,046.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 26.45 points, or 0.56 percent, to 4,675.99.
Helping to limit losses, Target Corp rose 6.8 percent and Lowe’s rose 6.3 percent, both after results.
Goldman Sachs analysts on Wednesday said the Fed, once it begins to tighten monetary policy, would raise short-term interest rates faster and to higher levels than current market expectations.
European shares ended flat after hitting a seven-week high earlier on, with investors trading cautiously ahead of minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The market also faced pressure from a sharp decline in mining shares after China’s iron ore futures dropped nearly 5 percent to a record low. That pushed down spot prices, which have slumped to their weakest in more than five years on a supply glut.
The STOXX Europe Basic Resources index fell 1.6 percent, the worst sectoral performer in Europe, while both Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton shed more than 2 percent.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 share index ended flat at 1,359.88 points, after climbing to a seven-week high earlier in the session with the help of some positive broker upgrades. But gains evaporated later as focus shifted to the Fed minutes.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks turned lower as investors booked profits as they took stock of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to delay a sales tax hike, and the challenges policy makers continue to face to re-energise a tottering economy.
The Nikkei benchmark closed down 0.3 percent at 17,288.75, reversing slim gains in the morning session. Market participants said a wait-and-see mood ahead of a press conference by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda encouraged profit taking.
Kuroda told reporters that the economy is likely to continue to grow above potential, but added that the BOJ will adjust its economic projections by assessing the growth trends.
Earlier today the BOJ kept monetary policy unchanged, as expected, saying that although weak points remain, the Japanese economy is recovering moderately.
Mobile phone carrier Softbank shed 1.6 percent, and clothes brand Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing closed down 1.2 percent. Sony Corp lost 1.5 percent.
The broader Topix closed up 0.1 percent at 1,396.54 after scaling an eight-year peak in the morning session, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 added 0.2 percent to 12,750.82.
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