Roundup: U.S. stocks end narrowly mixed after dovish Fed minutes

U.S. stocks managed to close mixed after wavering below flatline in most of the session Wednesday, as investors were weighing dovish Federal Reserve minutes against soft economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17.73 points, or 0.10 percent, to 18,029.85. The S&P 500 edged down 0.66 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,099.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 7.10 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,906.36.

Minutes of the Fed's January policy meeting released Wednesday afternoon showed that more Fed officials leaned toward keeping rates at zero "for a longer time" than wanted an earlier move. Many said a premature rate hike would harm the recovery, while only several thought a later move would risk high inflation.

The Fed has held rates near zero since December 2008, and it reiterated in January a pledge to remain "patient" on raising rates.

U.S. equities didn't react much to the release as investor sentiment was dampened by the weaker-than-expected economic data.

The U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted producer price index (PPI) for final demand decreased 0.8 percent in January, while final demand prices moved down 0.2 percent in both December and November. It was the third straight month of decline for PPI.

"The effects of a strong dollar cannot be overlooked, despite recent volatility. The divergence in economic strength between the United States and other developed nations pushes investors toward dollar stability, which acts as a premature monetary tightening on the domestic economy and limits inflation both because imported goods prices are falling and US manufacturers must compete with these cheaper goods at home and abroad," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

U.S. private-owned housing starts dropped 2 percent in January from a month earlier to an annual rate of 1.065 million, missing market expectations of a rate of 1.07 million, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Industrial production for January rebounded 0.2 percent after a December decrease of 0.3 percent, slightly below market consensus, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Overseas, Greece postponed the submission of a formal request for a six-month extension of the four-year bailout loan agreement from Wednesday to Thursday, Greek government sources said Wednesday.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 2.22 percent to end at 15.45 Wednesday.

In other markets, oil prices declined Wednesday as traders were awaiting the U.S. crude inventories report scheduled to release Thursday.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery moved down 1.39 U.S. dollars to settle at 52.14 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery declined 2 dollars to close at 60.53 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies Wednesday as the minutes for the Fed's latest meeting showed officials were concerned that raising interest rates too soon would dampen the U.S. economic recovery.

In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.1378 dollars from 1.1411 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 118.77 Japanese yen, lower than 119.29 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange extended losses Wednesday as traders became more confident that the Greek debt crisis would be resolved.

The most active gold contract for April delivery dropped 8.4 dollars, or 0.70 percent, to settle at 1,200.20 dollars per ounce, its lowest level since Jan. 5. Endite