US stocks close mixed after Fed minutes

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes from its last meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 48 points, or 0.13%, to finish the day at 38,612. The S&P 500 rose six points, or 0.13%, to 4,981.

The Nasdaq, on the other hand, decreased almost 50 points, or 0.32% to end the session at 15,580.

Fed officials see risks of cutting interest rates "too quickly," according to minutes released earlier of the central bank's last meeting that concluded on Jan. 31.

"Most participants noted the risks of moving too quickly to ease the stance of policy and emphasized the importance of carefully assessing incoming data in judging whether inflation is moving down sustainably to 2 percent," said the minutes.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, fell 0.5% to 15.33. The 10-year US Treasury yield jumped 1% to 4.320%.

The dollar index fell 0.06% to 104.01, while the euro rose 0.1% to $1.0814 against the greenback.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold flat at $2,024 per ounce but silver losing 0.5% to $22.88.

Oil prices showed gains, with global benchmark Brent crude rising 0.9% to $83.10 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude increasing 1.2% to $78.01.