Stocks Close Lower on Vague Fed Minutes; Oil Barely Breaks $40
It was a rough day on Wall Street, as the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq wrapped up Wednesday's session to the downside. This as the Federal Reserve released the minutes report of its July meeting and remained vague on when it expects to hike short-term interest rates, but analysts say central bankers aren't likely to pull the trigger during the Fed's September meeting. ‘We look at the rate hike decision in terms of probabilities,’ said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo (WFC) Investment Institute. ‘Coming into the release of these minutes, we said there’s a 30 percent chance of a September liftoff and 50 percent chance of rate hike in December, but after these minutes, I think we’re going to lean harder towards December.’ As for earnings news, home improvement giant Lowe's (LOW) reported net income of $1.20 for its second quarter, which is 4 cents short of the consensus estimate. But revenue rose 4.2 percent year over year. The stock finished the session with a gain of 2 percent. Plus, Target (TGT), beat Wall Street's estimates on the top and bottom lines and raised full-year earnings guidance. Shares rose just under 1 percent. Finally, oil prices settled lower by 4.3 percent to $40.80 a barrel - its lowest point in over six years as weekly crude inventories rose unexpectedly. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.
