Wall Street ended the day lower on Wednesday, after meeting minutes showed U.S. Federal Reserve officials split on when to ease back on economic stimulus, while COVID-19's spread weighed on oil for the fifth straight day.
The minutes fleshed out the Fed's thinking on when to taper its monthly bond purchases, and showed that Fed officials expected it is possible they could ease that stimulus this year if the economy continues to improve as expected.
The ongoing spread of COVID-19 cases continued to weigh down crude, which fell for the fifth straight day on concerns of diminishing travel demand. Brent crude ended down 80 cents, or 1.2%, at $68.23 a barrel. The global benchmark has lost 11% in the last 13 trading days dating to the end of July. U.S. crude futures settled down $1.13, or 1.7%, to $65.46 a barrel.U.S. Treasury yields also fell after the release of the Fed minutes, with investors eyeing a potential taper by the end of the year.
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