Roundup: U.S. stocks slump amid Fed minutes, Greece uncertainty

U.S. stocks suffered big losses Wednesday, as investors were digesting the Federal Reserve's minutes and the latest development in Greek debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 261.49 points, or 1.47 percent, to 17,515.42. The S&P 500 tumbled 34.66 points, or 1.67 percent, to 2,046.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index dived 87.70 points, or 1.75 percent, to 4,909.76.

According to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee ( FOMC), the policy-setting arm of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the information reviewed for the June 16-17 meeting suggested that real gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States was increasing moderately in the second quarter after edging down in the first quarter.

Labor market conditions improved somewhat further in recent months. Consumer price inflation continued to run below the FOMC's longer-run objective of 2 percent and was restrained significantly by earlier declines in energy prices and decreases in prices of non-energy imports.

"The minutes repeated the meeting-to-meeting and data-dependent guidance of the statement and press conference. For now the bar for domestic data is a little higher than it was before, suggesting September liftoff is unlikely," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

The uncertainty of Greek debt crisis continued to weigh on Wall Street. Greece has a last chance to strike a debt deal with creditors by the weekend or head to bankruptcy and Grexit, analysts warned.

Euro zone partners said bluntly after the extraordinary summit in Brussels Tuesday that without action, the game would be over for Greece on July 12.

The Greek government gave assurances that a comprehensive and realistic debt deal proposal would submitted on time.

However, the clear ultimatum from Brussels has fueled concern that after five years of austerity and multi-billion euro bailout packages, Greece is heading towards a messy exit from the euro zone.

The heavy sell-offs in Asian equities also dampened investor sentiment. Chinese stocks sank on shattered investor confidence Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeting 5.9 percent.

Tokyo stocks plunged 3.14 percent Wednesday, with its benchmark Nikkei stocks index falling more than 600 points to close at a nearly two-month low.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) halted trading in all securities starting from 11:32 a.m. EDT, local time, Wednesday, due to an undisclosed technical problem, and resumed floor trading around 3:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

NYSE and U.S. government officials said this is a technique issue, not the result of a cyber-attack. FBI said no law enforcement action is needed at NYSE.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, sharply increased 22.19 percent to end at 19.66 Wednesday.

In other markets, U.S. oil prices fell after government data showed that U.S. inventories added last week.

The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery moved down 68 cents to settle at 51.65 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery increased 20 cents to close at 57.05 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The U.S. dollar decreased against the Japanese yen to the lowest level in seven weeks as investors were seeking safe-haven assets amid Greek debt crisis.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1069 dollars from 1.0977 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 120.64 Japanese yen, lower than 122.46 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rebounded as the U.S. dollar weakened, giving the precious metal upward momentum.

The most active gold contract for August delivery added 10.9 dollars, or 0.95 percent, to settle at 1,163.50 dollars per ounce. Endite