U.S. stocks end mixed on Fed uncertainty; Dow down 0.05%

U.S. stocks end mixed on Fed uncertainty; Dow down 0.05%

Submitted by caseyb23 on Wed, 08/21/2013 - 06:10

U.S. stocks end mixed on Fed uncertainty; Dow down 0.05%

Investing.com – U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday after climbing earlier as investors sold and jumped to the sidelines to await the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its July policy meeting on Wednesday.

Stocks posted solid gains earlier amid hefty demand for retail stocks before profit taking ended the rally.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.05%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.68%.

Stocks rose earlier after investors snapped up nicely priced retailers, which fell on Monday due to disappointing earnings.

Home Depot shares soared after the company reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

The company also hiked its full-year guidance due to an improving housing market, though profit taking ended the rally while stocks overall gave back gains towards the closing bell due to monetary uncertainty.

Hit-or-miss economic indicators over the past several weeks have fueled uncertainty as to when the Fed will announce plans to scale back stimulus tools, with solid dating prompting investors to trade on a September start to tapering and weaker data sparking others to bet on a December start date.

Stimulus tools such as the Fed's monthly USD85 billion in asset purchases push up stock prices by keeping borrowing costs low, and talk of their dismantling can send share prices falling due to uncertainty as to how the market will perform with less monetary support.

Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's national activity index for July came in at -0.15 from a revised -0.23 in June, though the number came in much worse than market expectations for a -0.10.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Bank of America, up 1.13%, Intel, up 1.12%, and UnitedHealth Group, up 1.03%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Home Depot, down 1.21%, Johnson & Johnson, down 0.74%, and Wal-Mart, down 0.48%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.22%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.35%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 0.79%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.19%.

On Wednesday, markets will move on the release of the minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting.

Elsewhere, the U.S. will release industry data on existing home sales.�