U.S. stocks finished slightly down Wednesday, after the S&P 500 broke the 2,100 barrier for the first time Tuesday.
Investors were encouraged by Greece’s announcement that the nation would be seeking a loan extension from creditors. However, this isn’t the first encouraging sign that has come along during this crisis—and all other proposals have failed before ratification.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has agreed to hold off on cutting funding to Greek banks, and officials and investors are hopeful that a bailout extension will be finalized sometime this week.
The minutes from the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting were released this afternoon. The group continued its dovish tone towards a potential interest rate hike, while expressing concern over core levels of inflation. The Fed funds futures report places the chance of an interest rate hike before September at 53%, down from 62% before the minutes were released.
Here are the final numbers from Wednesday on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,029.85 (-17.73)
NASDAQ: 4,906.36 (+7.10)
S&P 500: 2,099.67 (-0.67)
