January 03, 2013-Stocks Close Lower on Negative Reaction to Monetary Policy Meeting

With a negative reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting weighing on the markets late in the session, stocks ended Thursday's trading in the red after turning higher over the course of the morning. The major averages regained some ground going into the close but still ended the day in negative territory. The Dow dipped 21.19 points or 0.2 percent to 13,391.36, the Nasdaq slid 11.69 points or 0.4 percent to 3,100.57 and the S&P 500 edged down 3.05 points or 0.2 percent to 1,459.37. Despite the modest losses on the day, the major averages only partly offset the strong gains posted over the two previous sessions. The late-day weakness that emerged on Wall Street came after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting suggested that the central bank could end its quantitative easing program earlier than anticipated. The minutes showed that several members said it would probably be appropriate to slow or stop the central bank's asset purchases well before the end of 2013. The members cited concerns about financial stability or the size of the balance sheet.