Stocks mixed as investors wait on the Fed
Source: AP-EXCITE
By KEN SWEET
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were mixed in morning trading Wednesday as investors held back ahead of the latest news from the Federal Reserve. The Fed releases minutes later in the afternoon from its December policy meeting, where central bank officials voted to start reducing the Fed's extraordinary support for the U.S. economy.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 62 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,469 as of 10:55 a.m. Eastern. The Dow was dragged lower by Proctor & Gamble and McDonald's, both down more than 1 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a point to 1,836 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,169.
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: The big theme of the week is job news. A private survey showed U.S. businesses added the most jobs in a year in December, powered by a big gain in construction work. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that companies added 238,000 jobs in December, better than the 200,000 economists had predicted. The ADP data sets the stage for Friday's government jobs report. Investors expect the U.S. economy created 190,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained steady at 7 percent.
FED MINUTES: Later this afternoon, investors will get the minutes from the Federal Reserve's mid-December meeting. That's when Fed officials voted to start pulling back on the bank's huge bond-buying program, which came as a surprise to many investors. Wall Street will be looking for the reasons why the Fed believed it was time to start reducing stimulus.
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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140108/DAB6NBAO1.html
Specialist Michael Shearin, foreground center, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014.Stocks are mostly lower in early trading as investors hold back ahead of the release of the latest news from the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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