US STOCKS-Dow, S&P 500 end slightly lower after Fed minutes

May 20, 2015 7:29 PM

* Minutes in line with interest rate expectations

* S&P briefly hits intraday record high

* Airlines down on expectations of lower passenger revenue

* Dow down 0.15 pct, S&P down 0.09 pct, Nasdaq up 0.03 pct (Updates to close, adds comment)

By Noel Randewich

May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended marginally lower on Wednesday after Wall Street saw little in the minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting to alter expectations of when the central bank will raise interest rates.

Following the minutes' release, the Dow and S&P 500 pushed into record territory before giving up their gains.

Officials at the Fed's April policy meeting believed it would be premature to raise interest rates in June and that a bump in inflation was being offset by a weaker labor market and softer data, according to the minutes.

"They didn't give much tangible evidence that they were going to do anything different than what the market was already prepared for, and I think that's why the net-net was a benign impact to financial markets," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.99 points, or 0.15 percent, to end at 18,285.4. The S&P 500 lost 1.98 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,125.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.71 points, or 0.03 percent, to end at 5,071.74.

The Dow had closed at record highs in the previous two sessions and on Wednesday was briefly on track for another all-time high close.

The S&P, also near record highs, is now trading at 17 times expected earnings, compared to its 10-year median of 15.

Five of the 10 major S&P 500 indexes were lower on Wednesday, led down by a 0.37 percent decline in the industrials index.

Southwest Airlines pushed airline shares lower with a drop of 9.09 percent after it forecast a decline in passenger unit revenue for the quarter. The Dow transports index lost 1.96 percent.

Among four banks fined a total of $6 billion for manipulating currency rates, Citigroup lost 0.79 percent and JP Morgan fell 0.79 percent.

While the Fed is broadly expected to raise rates this year, the timing of the move has kept the market on tenterhooks.

A Reuters poll on Tuesday showed most economists were now less sure about when rates would be increased, but the median still suggested a move in the third quarter.

Growth slowed to a crawl in the first quarter, while recent economic data has painted a mixed picture. Consumption, business spending and manufacturing data have suggested the economy is struggling, but housing starts were strong.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,571 to 1,426, for a 1.10-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,386 issues fell and 1,369 advanced for a 1.01-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and 54 new lows.

About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 6.3 billion average this month, according to BATS Global Markets. (Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal, Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch, editing by Savio D'Souza; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli)

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!