US stocks fall as Fed minutes awaited

The US stock index fell on Wednesday as investors waited minutes from the Federal Reserve'sFederal Reserve's meeting to gauge the health of the economy and pace of interest rate hikes to stamp out spiking inflation.

After a brutal selloff in global equity markets in the first half of the year, nervous investors are watching on central bank actions as they try to assess the impact of aggressive rate hikes on global growth.

With recent comments from the Fed policymakers, most traders are factoring in another 75 basis-point increase later in July.

On Wednesday trading was choppy with minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's June policy meeting, where it raised the policy rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. The S&P 500 fell to its lowest first half percentage since 1970 due to the Ukraine conflict, decades-high inflation and the Fed's pivot away from easy-money policy. The benchmark index is down nearly 20% this year.

The U.S. 10 year Treasury yield hit a new high after falling to a five-week low earlier in the day.

A key part of the yield curve was inverted for the first time in three weeks on Tuesday, reflecting growing angst in the world's biggest bond market over recession risks.

It's a tug of war between people who believe the economy will stay strong and not go into recession, and those who believe we're already in one, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B.Riley.

A survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed the U.S. services industry slowed less than expected in June, but the measure of services employment dropped to a two-year low, suggesting demand for labor could be ebbing.

The labor market is still tight, according to another report showing U.S. job openings fell less than expected in May. The more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report will be released on Friday.

Oil prices have fallen in recent days because of fears of demand destruction from a possible global recession. The S&P 500 energy sector index fell by 3.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 158.97 points, or 0.51%, at 30,808. The S&P 500 was down 15.26 points, or 0.40%, at 3,816, down 15.26 points, or 0.40%, at 85. The Nasdaq Composite was down 35.12 points, or 0.31%, at 11,287, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 35.12 points. Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc fell 4.1% and 7.7% after Amazon.com Inc. agreed to take a 2% stake in Grubhub, a struggling U.S. food delivery business.

Rivian Automotive Inc gained 10.8% after the electric-vehicle maker's deliveries nearly quadrupled as it ramped up production.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.27 to 1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.70 to 1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded two new 52 week highs and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 16 new highs and 77 new lows.