Stocks mostly lower on Wall Street ahead of release of minutes from latest Fed policy meeting

7/10/2013

NEW YORK — Stocks are edging lower in midday trading on Wall Street ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

Investors have been obsessing over Fed policy for the past month. They will parse the notes from the central bank’s June meeting for clues about when the central bank might begin to ease back on its economic stimulus program.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,277 points as of noon today.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell three points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,649. The Nasdaq composite gained four points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,507.

Family Dollar Stores rose 5 percent to $65.96 after the company reported income that beat analysts’ forecasts.