Equities Tumble Ahead of Fed Minutes

Stocks dipped on Wednesday, pressured by a broad decline in tech for the second day in a row. Investors also monitored a mixed batch of retail earnings and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release. The Dow Jones Industrials shed 46.95 points to 44,875.32. The S&P 500 index drifted lower 47.6 points to 6,363.77. The NASDAQ wilted 313.34 points, or 1.5%, to 21,001.61. Investors continued to take profits from several heavyweight technology and semiconductor names, fanning concerns about their high valuations and the strength of the AI trade longer term. Nvidia declined about 3%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom each lost more than 3.5%. Shares of Palantir declined about 5.5%, and Intel dropped more than 6%. Mega-cap tech companies Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta also declined. On the earnings front, Target shares dropped more than 8% — making the stock the S&P 500's worst performer — after the retailer reported another decline in sales and announced a new CEO who will step into the role on Feb. 1. Lowe’s, meanwhile, edged higher after the home improvement retailer’s earnings beat expectations. Investors are awaiting July meeting minutes from the Fed due at 2 p.m. ET. At the time, policymakers once more held steady on interest rates, but Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so since 1993. That comes ahead of remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, which investors will monitor for insights into the path of interest rates. Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 85% likelihood of the central bank cutting interest rates at its next meeting in September. Prices for 10-year Treasury gained ground Wednesday, lowering yields to 4.30% from Tuesday’s 4.31%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices poked up 63 cents to $62.98 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices recovered $26.80 cents at $3,385.50 U.S. an ounce.