Dow drops 245 points as Fed minutes spooks Wall Street

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its May policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.58%, or 245 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices fell 0.56% and 0.51%, respectively. The central bank’s minutes indicated a cautious approach to monetary policy and warned of “difficult tradeoffs” ahead if inflation persists.

“Participants agreed that uncertainty about the economic outlook had increased further, making it appropriate to take a cautious approach until the net economic effects of the array of changes to government policies become clearer,” a CNBC transcript of the minutes read. “Participants noted that the Committee might face difficult tradeoffs if inflation proves to be more persistent while the outlooks for growth and employment weaken.”

In trade talks, U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back against a Financial Times columnist who coined the term “TACO trade,” or Trump Always Chickens Out, a reference to the President’s tendency to delay tariff implementations. Trump said his tactics are part of a negotiation strategy and that trading partners like the European Union are eager to reach deals.

Meanwhile, strong earnings from key retailers signaled that consumer spending remains robust. Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. gained 14% after the company reported strong first-quarter results and guided for full-year net sales growth of 3% to 6%. On the other hand, shares of HP plunged 15% after missing earnings expectations and issuing a disappointing outlook due to “added costs” from tariffs.

Nvidia shares moved higher in extended trading after posting a top- and bottom-line beat. The company reported EPS of 96 cents on revenue of $44.06 billion, topping estimates of 93 cents per share and $43.31 billion. Data center revenue grew 73% year-over-year, though the company missed out on $2.5 billion in sales due to export restrictions on chips bound for China. The gross margin for the quarter was 61%, which would have been 71.3% without the new China-related charges.