By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after
Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled the central bank was on
track to slow down its bond-buying program that has boosted the
equity market.
The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 6.50 points, or 0.4%, to finish at
1,781.37, stretching its losing streak to three straight days for
its longest downtrend in about eight weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 66.21 points, or
0.4%, to close at 15,900.82, after briefly trading as many as 102
points lower.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) shed 10.28 points, or 0.3%, to end
at 3,921.27.
The main indexes remain just below milestone levels, such as
1,800 for the S&P 500 and 16,000 for the Dow. Market
strategists have said stocks could see profit-taking and
back-and-forth action around these big round numbers.
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." (Read more: Fed weighs slowing bond buys soon
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/federal-reserve-weighs-slowing-bond-buys-soon-2013-11-20.).
"Clearly it's pointing to the tapering coming sooner rather than
later," said Mark Lehmann, president of JMP Securities. "The
inevitable was inevitable, but the inevitable is coming
sooner."
Lehmann added that the market has had a strong year and "was
ready for a selloff anyway." The S&P 500 is up 24.9% in 2013 to
date.
"It was looking for an excuse to pull back, and I think it just
got one," he said.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales rose by
0.4% last month, beating forecasts for a flat result. The
stronger-than-anticipated retail report was the main driver for the
market in the morning, said Doug Coté, chief market strategist at
ING U.S. Investment Management.
"I would call it a blowout relative to expectations, and that is
a good sign that this economy can stand on its own two feet," Coté
told MarketWatch.
In other U.S. economic news, the Labor Department said the
consumer price index dipped 0.1% in October, roughly matching what
economists expected for that inflation gauge. In addition,
existing-home sales fell 3.2% last month, just about meeting
estimates.
* Today's market-moving news: The Fed minutes indicated
officials could reduce their bond buys in the coming months, and
that's "consistent with their message all along," said Paul Mangus,
head of equity research and strategy at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
Regarding the post-minutes slide, Mangus said some market
participants might have thought the taper timing was going to be
"extended out further than the consensus was expecting." The
general consensus has been a March taper, although on Wednesday St.
Louis Fed President James Bullard said tapering could come in
December.
* 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. 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 8.4% as
the department-store chain said it expects comparable sales and
gross margin to both improve from a year earlier. Deere & Co.
rose 2.1% as the tractors maker posted quarterly profit that topped
expectations. Lowe's Cos. fell 6.2% after the home-improvement
retailer's quarterly earnings missed forecasts. Read more in the
Movers & Shakers column.
* Other markets:Oil futures ended little changed after a
volatile session, while gold prices fell sharply. The dollar index
rose, while Treasury prices dropped.
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