NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit session lows in choppy trading on Wednesday as traders parsed the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.48 points or 0.25 percent, to 15,261.86. The S&P 500 lost 3.94 points or 0.24 percent, to 1,648.38. The Nasdaq Composite added 7.64 points or 0.22 percent, to 3,511.9.
The three major U.S. stock indexes jumped to session highs at 2:04 p.m. (1804 GMT), shortly after the minutes were released. But those gains were short-lived.
The minutes showed that the Federal Open Market Committee wanted more reassurance the employment recovery was on solid ground before winding down the Fed's bond-buying program. However, consensus built within Fed officials about the likely need to begin pulling back on economic stimulus measures soon.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)