US stocks drift lower after release of Fed minutes
By The Associated Press
Posted 4:36PM on Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Stocks closed lower for the first time this week as the market edged below the record high it set the day before.<br />
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Investors found little new to trade on in the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting, released Wednesday afternoon. (See separate story. Link below.)<br />
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The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid three points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,048.<br />
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The Dow Jones industrial average slipped two points, less than 0.1 percent, to 17,685. The Nasdaq composite shed 26 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,675.<br />
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The S&P 500 and Dow closed at record highs the day before.<br />
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Cliffs Natural Resources sank 20 percent on news that the mining company is pursuing exit options for its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations.<br />
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The price of oil fell three cents to $74.58 a barrel in New York.
