US stocks finished a choppy day lower Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting gave no more clarity on the central bank's plans for its stimulus program.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.67 (0.70 per cent) to 14,897.32.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 9.53 (0.58 per cent) to 1,642.82, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 13.80 (0.38 per cent) at 3,599.79.
Minutes of the July 30-31 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) showed the Fed continues to debate the timing of pulling back its $85 billion per month in bond-buying purchases.
Art Hogan, head of product strategy at Lazard Capital Markets, said the vagueness of the Fed's position raised uncertainty.
"The market would like more clarity and it's not getting that," Hogan said. "The market is reacting the this vacuum of new news and selling off.
