Red Results

Wednesday’s session closed out in red territory. Caterpillar, UnitedHealth Group, and Alcoa led the Dow’s descent. Brands traded lower amid the release of a variety of economic data. Comments from the Federal Reserve failed to impress. Minutes from the latest FOMC meeting showed policymakers remained divided on the future course of quantitative easing. Meanwhile, housing starts declined in January. The Commerce Department said construction starts fell to 890,000 last month. An 8.5% decrease from the upwardly revised 973,000 in December, analysts had expected 914,000 starts in January. On another note, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the producer price index ticked up 0.2% in January. Up from a 0.2% dip in December, consensus expectations were for a 0.3% rise month over month. Elsewhere, crude oil futures slipped $1.88 today to settle at $95.22 a barrel.

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