(MENAFN- The Peninsula) US stocks were lower in early trade Wednesday as investors weighed mixed retailer earnings and awaited the release of the Federal Reserve minutes of the April monetary policy meeting.
About 50 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.59 points (0.16 percent) to 18,282.80.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 3.18 (0.15 percent) to 2,124.65, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.13 (0.18 percent) to 5,060.91.
Discount chain Target rose 0.4 percent after reporting first-quarter profit surged 51.6 percent from a year ago to $635 million and raising its full-year earnings forecast.
Home improvement retailer Lowe's lost 3.2 percent after its first-quarter results disappointed.
Office supplies chain Staples reported a 39 percent plunge in first-quarter, citing store closures in North America and the stronger dollar. Staples shares fell 1.7 percent.
Stocks had barely budged Tuesday, with the Dow inching to a record high and the S&P 500 slipping after a three-day streak of record highs.
Investors were keyed up for the release of the Fed minutes of the April 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, to be released in the afternoon, hoping to find insights into the Fed's plan to lift near-zero interest rates this year. The Fed post-meeting statement had left open its time frame for a rate hike.
"We do not expect substantive changes - the minutes should continue to highlight the FOMC's view that the majority of the slowdown is due to transitory factors," Barclays said in a research note.
Auto-parts and services retailer Pep Boys leaped 13.4 percent after The Wall Street Journal reported private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital and others have recently expressed interest in buying it.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury edged up to 2.29 percent from 2.28 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year advanced to 3.0 percent from 3.07 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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