U.S. stocks finished modestly lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 snapping three straight trading days of gains, as investors weighed minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting and signs of slowing growth in China. The S&P 500 SPX closed 0.2% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP slipped 0.2%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s minutes June policy meeting, released on Wednesday, showed some support from Fed officials for an interest rate hike last month although the central bank decided to hold its benchmark rate steady. Fed-funds-futures traders are still largely expecting that the central bank will raise rates in July, after it slowed the pace of its hiking cycle earlier this year. The Fed had signaled last month that further increases may be coming this year as part of its effort to bring down high inflation.
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