U.S. Stocks Fall Amid Economic Data Before January Fed Minutes

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U.S. stocks fell, after the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index rose to a record Tuesday, as factory production rose less than forecast before the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting.

S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent to 2,096.28 at 12:04 p.m. in New York, after the benchmark index closed at a record Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 30.97 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,016.61. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 19 percent below the 30-day average.

In a statement after its January meeting, the Fed reiterated the previous month™s stance that the committee would be patient in deciding when to begin raising interest rates, and said job gains were strong. Several Fed officials have said the U.S. central bank™s first interest-rate increase in almost a decade may come as soon as June. Minutes from the meeting are due at 2 p.m. in Washington.

Source: Bloomberg