By Alexandra Scaggs And Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday after two consecutive days of
gains for the Dow industrials and the S&P 500.
Investors are looking ahead to the release of minutes from the
Federal Reserve's latest monetary-policy meeting at 2 p.m.
Eastern.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 15 points, or 0.1%,
to 16935. The S&P 500 index was little changed, gaining less
than 0.1% to 1982, and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed five points,
or 0.1%, to 4522.
Stocks rose Tuesday, which marked the third-slowest full trading
day of the year. The Dow gained 0.5% to 16919.59 and the S&P
500 rose 0.5% to 1981.60.
Central bankers are in the spotlight this week, between the Fed
meeting minutes and a closely watched annual gathering of central
bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen
and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are scheduled to
speak later this week.
Investors will be eyeing both events to determine the outlook
for central-bank policy. Many say that persistently low interest
rates have supported stock-market gains this year by keeping bond
yields low and pushing investors to search for yield in riskier
parts of the market.
As a result, "you're getting a lot of people crowded into pretty
small spaces where they think there's opportunity," said Ralph
Segall, chief investment officer of Segall Bryant & Hamill,
which manages $9.5 billion. "This is a time you're worried about
making sure you don't get run over."
Mr. Segall said that U.S. stocks could be vulnerable to a sharp
selloff if the broad hunt for yield changes course. As a result,
his team has been buying stocks that trade at relatively low
valuations, in hopes those stocks will hold up if broader stock
benchmarks take a dive.
Still, if Wednesday's minutes indicate that officials are
willing to keep short-term interest rates low, stocks could push
higher, said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for State
Street Global Advisors' U.S. Intermediary Business.
"The [economic data] that we're seeing continue to indicate that
the economy is improving, particularly areas where we had
structural problems like housing and labor, yet inflation remains
fairly benign," he said. "That is a very positive environment for
U.S. stocks."
Strategists say that improving economic data and corporate
earnings are other factors that have helped push the stock market
higher this year. The Dow and the S&P 500 recovered from a
pullback in January and early February to advance to a series of
fresh records.
Stocks have recently staged a recovery from a mid-July pullback,
which was sparked by a bout of geopolitical fears and concerns
about the end of the Fed's loose monetary policy. As of Tuesday's
close, the Dow was off 1.3% from its July 16 record and the S&P
was just 0.3% below its July 24 record.
European stocks pulled back, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index
down 0.4%.
Treasury prices fell as well, pushing the yield on the 10-year
Treasury note up to 2.418%, according to FactSet.
In corporate news, Lowe's Cos. Inc. reported
better-than-expected results in the second quarter. But shares fell
0.4% as the company lowered its sales outlook for the full
year.
PetSmart Inc. said it would explore strategic alternatives,
including a possible sale. The company said it would implement a
cost-reduction program. Shares rose 0.2%.
In commodity markets, crude-oil futures rose 0.5% to $93.35 a
barrel. Gold futures slipped 0.2% to $1,294.70 an ounce.
Write to Alexandra Scaggs at alexandra.scaggs@wsj.com