NEW YORK: The Dow and S&P 500 tilted into negative territory and the dollar rose Wednesday after Federal Reserve meeting minutes left the door open to a June interest rate increase.
Stocks had been solidly positive shortly before the minutes were released at 1800 GMT. But all three major stock indices pulled back after the minutes were released, with the Dow and S&P 500 slipping into negative territory.
The dollar also pushed higher, with the euro at $1.1226, compared with $1.1284 shortly before the minutes were published.
The minutes "sounded a surprisingly hawkish tone," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.
This suggests "a much higher risk of a June rate hike than financial markets are currently pricing in," he said. "As such, the dollar and bond yields are poised to move higher while equities, commodities and higher yielding assets are likely to encounter additional downside risks."
Near 1820 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,494.09, down 0.2 percent.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,043.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2 percent to 4,725.82.
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