By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned lower on Wednesday
after Federal Reserve meeting minutes suggested the central bank
was looking for ways to exit or at least slow down its bond-buying
program fairly soon.
Stocks erased gains that came after a stronger-than-expected
rise in October retail sales.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was last down 2 points, or 0.1%, to 1,786,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 26 points, or
0.2%, to 15,941.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was little changed, edging up 1
point to 3,932.
The Dow remained near the milestone level of 16,000 after
snapping a four-day win streak in the prior session and failing to
hold above that level. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq traded near
their own big round numbers of 1,800 and 4,000, respectively.
The Fed minutes said the central bank was considering reducing
the size of the its asset purchase program even "before an
unambiguous further improvement in the [labor-market] outlook was
apparent." (Read more: Fed weighed date or size limit to bond buys
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-weighed-date-or-size-limit-to-bond-buys-2013-11-20.).
Early Wednesday, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose
by 0.4% last month, beating forecasts for a flat result. In
addition, the Labor Department said the consumer price index dipped
by 0.1% in October, roughly matching what economists expected for
that inflation gauge. Stock futures added to their gains after
these reports were released. In other U.S. economic news,
existing-home sales fell 3.2% last month, just about meeting
estimates.
Check out MarketWatch's live blog of Wednesday's stock-market
action.
* Today's market-moving news: The Fed minutes said many
officials at the central bank think it "could decide to slow the
pace of purchases at one of its next few meetings." Earlier
Wednesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said tapering
could come in December. And late Tuesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
also addressed the central bank's ultra-loose monetary policy.
* The buzz:Marc Faber sees bubbles everywhere in finance, and he
thinks Bernanke's presumed successor, Janet Yellen, could make them
worse. Also bearish,MarketWatch columnist Jeff Reeves gives five
reasons why the next six months will bring a double-digit
correction for the S&P 500, which is up nearly 26% so far this
year. On a more encouraging note, Warren Buffett says stocks are
"not way overpriced," but they're also "definitely not
underpriced."
* Today's movers & shakers: J.C. Penney Co. jumped 7% as the
department-store chain said it expects comparable sales and gross
margin to both improve from a year earlier. Deere & Co. rose 3%
as the tractors maker posted quarterly profit that topped
expectations. Lowe's Cos. fell 5% after the home-improvement
retailer's quarterly earnings missed forecasts. Read more in the
Movers & Shakers column.
* Other markets:Oil futures dipped, and gold prices fell
sharply. The dollar index rose, while Treasury prices dropped.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires