NEW YORK: US stocks fell on Wednesday after minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting said the central bank could scale back its stimulus program "in coming months."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.21 points (0.41 per cent) at 15,900.82. The broad-based SandP 500 fell 6.50 points (0.36 per cent) to 1,781.37, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 10.28 points (0.26 per cent) to 3,921.27.
All three indices traded in positive territory for most of the day before turning negative following the release of the minutes of the Fed's October 29-30 policy meeting, which suggested its US$85 billion a month in asset purchases could soon be reduced.
Participants expected "ongoing improvement in labour market conditions" that would "thus warrant trimming the pace of purchases in coming months," the minutes said.
The minutes reiterated that any such move was contingent on better economic data.
Tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris fell 2.4 per cent after forecasting total international cigarette industry volume would decline 3.0 percent in 2013 and an additional 2-3 per cent in 2014, with a 7-8 per cent drop in the EU region.
Agriculture equipment company Deere jumped 2.1 per cent after results bested expectations by a wide margin. Per-share earnings came in at US$2.11 compared with the US$1.89 expected by analysts. The company pointed to major new factories added in Brazil, China and other emerging markets.
Dow component Boeing fell 3.3 per cent after Oppenheimer downgraded the stock, citing a lack of near-term catalysts for further gains following a steep rise over the last 12 months, according to the Street.com.
Caterpillar, another Dow component, lost 1.2 per cent after reporting that retail machinery sales fell 12 per cent in October compared with the year-ago period.
Department store chain J.C. Penney vaulted 8.4 per cent after the company forecast improving comparable store sales and gross margins in the fourth quarter. The struggling retailer lost US$489 million in the third quarter
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