- US stocks fell Wednesday as investors took in the Fed meeting minutes.
- Manufacturing data released early Wednesday showed factory orders came in weaker than expected in May.
US stocks traded lower on Wednesday, as investors took in the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June policy meeting.
Minutes revealed that the central bank sees more rate hikes to come, but at a slower pace. Policymakers unanimously decided to skip the most recent hike after 10 consecutive raises to allow for more data to roll in.
"The economy was facing headwinds from tighter credit conditions, including higher interest rates, for households and businesses, which would likely weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation, al-though the extent of these effect remained uncertain," the minutes said.
"Many [officials] also noted that after rapidly tightening the stance of monetary policy last year, the Committee had slowed the pace of tightening and that a further moderation in the pace of policy firming was appropriate in order to provide additional time to observe the effects of cumulative tightening and assess their implications for policy."
Meanwhile, manufacturing data released Wednesday morning showed factory orders came in weaker than expected.
On Friday, investors will get further insight into the state of the economy as employment data arrives in the form of non-farm payrolls.
The Nasdaq is coming off its best first half to a year since 1983, while the S&P 500 capped off its best first half since 2019.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,446.82, down 0.2%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,289.43, down 0.37% (129.04 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,791.65, down 0.18%
Here's what else is going on:
- The Russian ruble just blew through its "comfort zone" as the currency weakens after the failed mutiny.
- Netflix's password-sharing crackdown is working so well that a Wall Street bear just upgraded the stock.
- Five reasons investors should start preparing for losses in the stock market.
- Goldman Sachs says the "Rule of 10" can help investors identify the next big stock market winners.
- Credit markets are headed for a "slow motion car crash," according to a hedge fund billionaire.
- Russia's crude oil exports show little sign of slowing, but energy revenue is tumbling.
- Bed Bath & Beyond went bankrupt, but that hasn't stopped retail investors from trading $200 million in shares over recent weeks.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 3.2% to $72.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, edged higher by 0.65% to $76.91 a barrel.
- Gold slipped 0.3% to $1,924.20 per ounce.
- The 10-year yield ticked higher seven basis points to 3.93%.
- Bitcoin moved lower 0.63% to $30,534.01.