WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of
the trading session on Wednesday before coming under pressure following the
release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but ended
the day in the red after ending Tuesday's choppy trading session modestly
higher.

The Dow slid 201.95 points or 0.5 percent to 39,671.04, the S&P 500 fell 14.40
points or 0.3 percent to 5,307.01 and the Nasdaq dipped 31.08 points or 0.2
percent at 16,801.54.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as the Fed minutes suggested
officials expect to maintain interest rates at current levels longer than
previously thought.

The minutes of the April 30-May 1 meeting said participants highlighted
disappointing readings on inflation over the first quarter and indicators
pointing to strong economic momentum.

The participants subsequently assessed that it would take longer than previously
anticipated for them to gain 'greater confidence' inflation is moving
sustainably toward 2 percent.

With Fed officials repeatedly saying they need 'greater confidence' inflation is
slowing before they cut rates, the minutes said participants discussed
maintaining the current restrictive policy stance for longer.

While officials also discussed reducing policy restraint in the event of an
unexpected weakening in labor market conditions, various participants also
mentioned a willingness to raise rates further should risks to inflation
materialize in a way that such an action became appropriate.

'The investing world will have to wait at least another month to hear anything
about rate cuts but the kicker in this report was the willingness of some
participants to restrict policy further which apparently according to the
markets action was quite the surprise,' said Alex McGrath, Chief Investment
Officer for NorthEnd Private Wealth.

Selling pressure remained relatively subdued, however, as traders seemed
reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly results
from AI darling Nvidia (NVDA).

Nvidia is scheduled to release its fiscal first quarter results after the close
of today's trading, with analysts expecting the company to report substantial
earnings and revenue growth.

Sector News

Gold stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, resulting in a
3.7 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The sell-off by gold
stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal.

A sharp decline by the price of crude oil also contributed to significant
weakness among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.4 percent plunge by the
Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Housing stocks also saw considerable weakness following the release of a report
unexpectedly showing a continued decrease by existing home sales in August, with
the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index tumbled by 2.4 percent.

Brokerage, oil producer and steel stocks also showed notable moves to the
downside, while biotechnology and semiconductor stocks bucked the downtrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent,
while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the
German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s
FTSE 100 Index both fell by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved modestly lower following the release of the
Fed minutes. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves
opposite of its price, rose 2.0 basis points to 4.434 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Thursday is likely to be driven by reaction to Nvidia's quarterly
results, although reports on weekly jobless claims and new home sales may also
attract attention.



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