Wall St closes mixed
United States stocks closed mixed following a strong report on US private-sector job growth and the release of minutes from the latest board meeting of the US Federal Reserve.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 68.20 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 16,462.74.
The broad-based S&P 500 gave up 0.39 of a point, or 0.02 per cent, to 1,837.49, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 12.34 of a point, or 0.30 per cent, to 4,165.61.
The Nasdaq had spent the day in the black before weakening in the wake of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve, which showed a broad consensus of support to gradually taper economic stimulus. In late afternoon the index pushed back into positive territory.
"The minutes have become less of a market mover in recent years, but market action is often restrained prior to the release," a note from Briefing.com said ahead of the release. "Volatility is possible afterwards as the wording is parsed for cryptic interpretations."
The downward moves followed gains on Tuesday that snapped a three-session losing streak.
Meanwhile, the US private sector added 238,000 jobs in December, according to payroll firm ADP, well above the consensus estimate of 203,000. It represented the best result for the survey for all of 2013.
The report is the latest data to show better job growth in the US and comes ahead of Friday's widely watched December jobs report from the US Department of Labor.