The major stock market indexes closed mixed in afternoon trading, dipping after the Fed meeting minutes came out Wednesday afternoon. Several stocks soared on earnings news.
The Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting FOMC minutes stated "almost all participants agreed that it was appropriate" to raise rates by a quarter point, or 25 basis points.
The minutes showed policymakers thought slowing the pace of interest-rate increases was the path to balance the risks of overshooting or not doing enough to fight inflation. Some repeated warnings of slowing or stopping rate increases too hastily, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The notes also included that a few participants were leaning toward and would have agreed to a 50 basis-point hike in the latest move.
"The participants favoring a 50-basis-point increase noted that a larger increase would more quickly bring the target range close to the levels they believed would achieve a sufficiently restrictive stance," the minutes said.
The notes suggested another quarter-point hike was likely at the next FOMC meeting, set for March 21-22.
Since the last meeting, new data arose that may change the Fed's stance on rate hikes. Strong hiring numbers, low unemployment and retail spending show a continued healthy economy. Those factors along with higher inflation could keep the Fed raising rates longer than planned before the new data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 0.3% and the S&P 500 gave back 0.2%. The Nasdaq eked out a 0.1% gain. The small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.3%.
Volume on the NYSE slightly lower and the Nasdaq was lower than on Tuesday at the same time, in preliminary numbers.
The Dow remains below its 50-day moving average, while the S&P 500 held on at its 50-day line. The Nasdaq remains above its 200-day moving average but below the 21-day line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF inched up 0.1%.
Crude oil dropped 3.2% to $73.82 per barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF sank 0.7%, finding support at the 200-day line.
Bitcoin futures sank 2.7% to $23,830. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF added 0.4%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield shed 3 basis points to 3.92%.
Investors will be looking for weekly jobless claims numbers on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, and January Personal Income and Outlays numbers on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. These numbers may give a clue on what the Fed's next move may be.
Stock Market Movers: Body Products Retailer Up
Bath & Body Works gained 2.8% on news that activist Dan Loeb's Third Point plans to launch a proxy fight against the body care products retailer, according to the Wall Street Journal. The stock is trading below its 50-day line, with earnings due Thursday.
La-Z-Boy gapped up 15.1% and cleared buy points at 30.33 and 31.29 in heavy volume. The furniture retailer's January-quarter results topped adjusted EPS and sales expectations.
Shares are in a 5% buy zone reaching to 32.85. The relative strength line hit a new high, as indicated by the blue dot on the MarketSmith chart.
Palo Alto Networks popped 12.5% in heavy volume, after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal Q2 EPS and gave positive earnings guidance on Tuesday after the market close.
Chinese internet search leader Baidu reversed course from a morning spike, closing down 2.6% in heavy trading, following better-than-expected profit but flat sales. Baidu also announced a $5 billion stock repurchase program.
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IBD 50 stock Wingstop gapped up 7.7% in heavy volume following better-than-expected Q4 adjusted earnings and sales numbers and guidance. Wingstop added 61 locations in Q4 and plans to open 240 new stores in 2023.
The move sent shares above the 5% buy zone of a cup-with-handle base with a 169.04 buy point.
Toll Brothers jumped 3% in heavy volume after reporting a beat on Q1 top and bottom lines. Shares found support the 21-day exponential moving average.
Keysight Technologies plunged 12.7% in heavy volume, after reporting Q1 earnings numbers and providing lower-than-expected Q2 sales guidance Tuesday after the market closed. The stock was forming a large cup-with-handle base but never topped the 189.55 buy point. KEYS is the S&P 500's biggest loser today.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
