US stocks fall after Fed minutes

Trader William Lawrence, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. US stocks Wednesday finished lower after minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed some policymakers sought an early hike in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks Wednesday finished lower after minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed some policymakers sought an early hike in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89.84 (0.56 percent) to 16,040.56.

The broad-based S&P 500 slumped 12.01 (0.65 percent) to 1,828.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 34.83 (0.82 percent) at 4,237.95.

The bulk of the losses came after the minutes from the central bank’s end-January policy meeting were released at 1400 GMT.

“Two p.m. was when this downward movement began,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.

The minutes revealed the policy makers were increasingly upbeat, and that even though the majority still saw their benchmark short-term rate staying at the ultra-low level of 0-0.25 percent until 2015, “a few” favored higher raising the rate “relatively soon,” some even pointing to mid-2014.

Large banks retreated, including Dow component JPMorgan Chase (-2.1 percent), Citigroup (-2.4 percent) and Bank of America (-1.6 percent).

Some leading technology companies also had a bad day, including Twitter (-4.6 percent), Apple (-1.6 percent) and (-1.8 percent). But Facebook advanced 1.1 percent.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company announced that a trial of its ramucirumab treatment for lung cancer boosted survival rates, propelling the stock 5.1 percent higher.

Signet Jewelers unveiled a $1.4-billion offer to acquire rival Zale. Zale shot up 40.3 percent to $20.92, just under the $21 per-share offer. Signet jumped 18.1 percent.

US Steel plummeted 7.0 percent on news that the Commerce Department determined that South Korean steel makers had not engaged in dumping of steel pipes used by oil drillers.

Earnings of $5.71 per share from fertilizer maker CF Industries easily beat expectations of $4.49 per share. Shares jumped 5.1 percent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.73 percent from 2.68 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year jumped to 3.71 percent from 3.67 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.