U.S. Stocks Flat After Fed Minutes

The majority of the U.S. stocks were flat while the Federal Reserve minutes gave investors some indication as to when the next-rate increase would be. The minutes from the Fed's September meeting has shown that several of the policy makers called for the rate hike as “relatively soon”, however members disagreed on the timing of the move.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 percent to 18144.20. The S&P inched up 0.1 percent to 2139.18 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1 percent to 5239.02. Real-estate stocks in the S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent as utility stocks advanced by one percent. Investors are currently turning their attention to the earnings.

Alcoa declined by 2.9 percent to $27.11 a day. Illumina was down two percent to 136.18. Health-care stocks in the S&P 500 drove declines for the second consecutive session as the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index retreated by 2.5 percent. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note increased to 1.778 percent after investors found meager hints in the Fed minutes to confirm expectations of a rate hike in December.

News are provided by InstaForex