NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated from records early Wednesday ahead of the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
Analysts have been girding for a pullback following a run of records driven by anticipation of major tax cuts under President Donald Trump. All three major equity indices have closed at records for seven of the last eight days.
"It is no surprise, then, that veteran market watchers are suggesting the market has moved too far, too fast, and that it is due for a breather," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 20,702.80, down 0.2 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 had dropped 0.3 percent to 2,358.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.3 percent to 5,848.65.
Investors were looking ahead to the release later Wednesday of minutes from the Fed's last monetary policy meeting, which could shed further light on the time-frame for the next interest rate increase.
The US central bank has been guiding investors to expect gradual interest rate increases in light of the moderately improving economy, and analysts see some increase in chances for the next hike March 15.
TJX, parent of Marshall's and TJ Maxx stores, rose 0.3 percent after reporting higher fourth-quarter earnings following a three percent rise in comparable store sales.
Garmin, which makes information devices for fitness and navigation purposes, jumped 9.7 percent after reporting a 10.2 percent increase in fourth-quarter sales to $860.8 million.
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