US stocks slip as traders wait for Fed meeting minutes

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

• US stocks were lower Wednesday morning ahead of the release of the Fed's latest meeting minutes.

• Inflation has been falling but is still above the Fed's target, creating doubt about how soon it could pivot.

• China's economic situation continues to worsen, prompting concerns about global growth.

US stocks were down on Wednesday as traders waited on further indication of how the Federal Reserve is feeling about inflation.

Markets were eyeing the release of the Fed's July meeting minutes, due out Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET. While fed fund futures show that July marked the last rate hike of the cycle, there's still doubt about how soon the Fed could pivot from its aggressive monetary policy given that inflation is still above the central bank's target of 2%. Prices increased 3.2% in July, less than expected but more than the 3% clocked in June.

Key Treasury yields edged slightly lower. The two-year yield slipped after briefly topping 5%. The 10-year edged lower but is still well above 4%.

China's economic troubles continue to deepen. Its property markets was shaken again this week as real estate developer Country Garden indicated "major uncertainties" that it would be able to make bond payments. Meanwhile, government data reported Tuesday indicated a broad slowdown in economic activity, and the National Bureau of Statistics said it would stop reporting youth unemployment levels, which have been a key data point illustrating the country's slump.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Wednesday: 

• S&P 500: 4,434.12, down 0.08%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,919.63, down 0.08% (26.76 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,588.44, down 0.31%

Here's what else is going on today: 

• This year's best-performing IPO is from a company that makes golf putters. It soared more than 600% in its Tuesday debut.

• Here's why "The Big Short" investor Michael Burry's bets against the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are no surprise.

• An EV IPO boom has boosted the wealth of Vietnam's richest person to over $44 billion.

• A key China shadow bank has missed dozens of payments on various investment products.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged slightly higher to $81 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, rose 0.1% to $84.99 a barrel.

• Gold fell 0.1% to $1,932.50 per ounce.

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond ticked up to 4.229%.

• Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $29,094.

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