New York: US stocks closed mixed with the Nasdaq Composite Index refreshing previous day’s closing record, as Wall Street digested the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday fell 11.98 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 18,526.14, Xinhua news agency reported.
The S&P 500 edged down 0.33 point, or 0.02 per cent, to 2,186.15. The Nasdaq increased 8.02 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 5,283.93.
According to the Beige Book released in the afternoon, reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts suggest that national economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace on balance during the reporting period of July through late August.
“Labor market conditions remained tight in most Districts, with moderate payroll growth noted in general. Price increases remained slight overall,” said the Beige Book.
The Fed has been in focus recently, with investors pondering over when the US central bank will decide to raise interest rates.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s monetary policy arm, is set to meet on September 20-21.
On the economic front, the number of job openings increased to 5.9 million on the last business day of July, the US Labor Department reported on Wednesday.
IANS