By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks moved lower on Wednesday after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy setting meeting revealed little consensus about when short-term rates would begin to rise.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) was 10.90 points, or 0.6%, lower at 1,830.06, after being within a hair's breadth from its all-time high reached on Jan 15.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added as much as 95 points before it, too, reversed. The blue-chip index recently was down 65.55 points, or 0.4%, at 16,063.74.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell 36.36 points, or 0.8%, to 4,235.98, putting it on track to snap an eight-session winning streak. Follow our stock market live blog.

"The Fed succeeded in letting the markets function on their own and we can see that in the near-5% rise in February, which was all driven by better-than-expected earnings," said Doug Cote, chief investment strategist at ING Investment Management.

"It is very clear the taper will continue at a $10bn-a-month rate and finish by the end of the year. New chairwoman Janet Yellen also inspires of lot of confidence -- she is a strong consensus builder and will continue with the low-rate policy," he added.

At the January meeting, Fed officials agreed unanimously to continue to slowly reduce the pace of the central's asset-purchase program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month and to pledge to keep rates low until "well past" the point where the unemployment rate fell below a 6.5% threshold. This was the first unanimous statement since 2011. However, minutes revealed little consensus over short-term rates and some doubts about whether the central bank should continue to reduce the pace of asset purchases.

Before the release of minutes, stocks reversed gains after a spate of speeches from Federal Reserve officials. Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart said he expects a mid-2015 interest-rate hike. Separately, the IMF warned of a still-weak economic recovery with significant risks remaining.

Economic data: Housing starts, wholesale prices

"With the weather being this cold, it is hard to draw conclusions from housing reports," said Terry Sandven, senior equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Both the headline number and building permits were below expectations, but not at worrying levels."

He noted that earnings growth so far this season has beaten expectations, and said he remains optimistic about the market this year.

Construction on new U.S. homes tumbled 16% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000, with drops for single-family homes and apartments, according to Commerce Department. Economists polled by MarketWatch said particularly poor weather hit construction last month. Building permits, a sign of future demand, fell to the lowest rate since August.

U.S. producer prices rose in January under the government's new formula for measuring wholesale inflation, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Movers: Zale, Chelsea Therapeutics International soar

Shares of Zale (ZLC) soared 40% after Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG) said it would buy its smaller rival for about $690 million in an all-cash deal. Signet shares rose 17%.

Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (CHTPE) shares surged 22% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conditionally approved the pharmaceutical company's new drug for treating symptomatic neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. The drug, called Northera, received an accelerated approval since it was deemed to treat a serious unmet medical condition.

Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) climbed 9.6% after the company's earnings beat Wall Street expectations. The provider of standalone global positioning systems said its nonautomotive and mobile segments of its business made up 50% of the company's total revenue.

Carlyle Group (CG) shares rallied initially after the company's fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations, however, shares lost momentum and dropped 0.6%.

Among decliners, Potbelly Corp. (PBPB) slid 8.4% after earnings per share beat estimates, but revenue, comparable-store sales and outlook all fell short of expectations.

La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) dropped 1.9% after the firm reported fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday that failed to meet analyst estimates.

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) and Safeway (SWY) are expected to report fourth-quarter results after the market close.

Other markets: Dollar rises, gold falls after Fed minutes.

The dollar edged up while gold futures settled lower and lost even more ground after the Fed minutes. 10-year Treasury yields also rose to 2.73% while oil prices edged up.

European stocks ended slightly higher, while Asia markets closed mixed.

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