Fed Minutes Scare Traders, Turns Big Gains Into Losses

The headline says it all.

After perusing the minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting (mid-March), analysts and traders saw some language they didn't exactly like, even though it was probably a long-overdue dose of reality for the Wall Street speculators.

The Dow was up nearly 200 points prior to the release of the minutes at 2:00 pm ET, but quickly reversed course ending with a 41-point loss. The NASDAQ had been at all-time record levels, but closed down 14.

The two most blaring commentaries gleaned from the minutes were that some members of the committee saw stock prices as unreasonably high and a discussion about ratcheting down the Fed's bloated balance sheet, which balooned to over $4 trillion after the financial meltdown in 2008-09.

At the Close, April 5, 2017:
Dow: 20,648.15, -41.09 (-0.20%)
NASDAQ:5,864.48, -34.13 (-0.58%)
S&P 500: 2,352.95, -7.21 (-0.31%)
NYSE Composite: 11,423.36, -47.18 (-0.41%)