DPM:CC - Dow Ends 3-Day Win Streak
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid on Wednesday as Wall Street resumed a holiday-shortened week and digested the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes for insights into the state of monetary policy.
The 30-stock index fell 129.83 points to end the day's trading at 34,288.64.
The S&P 500 dipped 8.77 points to 4,446.82.
The NASDAQ index slid 25.12 points to 13,791.65.
Investors parsed minutes from the June 13-14 Fed meeting released Wednesday afternoon, in which most officials indicated further interest rate hikes could lie ahead. The minutes gave Wall Street additional context to the central bank's decision to skip a rate increase at the June meeting.
Data released Wednesday morning showed factory orders were weaker than expected in May. Later in the week, investors will watch for a batch of employment and wage data for insights into the strength of the labor market.
Investors are coming off a positive session Monday, which kicked off the start of a new month, quarter and half-year for traders. Markets closed early on Monday and were completely dark on Tuesday for the Fourth of July holiday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury dropped sharply, raising yields to 3.93% from Monday's 3.82%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $2.14 to $71.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $6.20 to $1,923.30 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Ends 3-Day Win Streak