Stocks Dip Ahead of Fed Minutes

FOX Business: The Power to Prosper The markets fell solidly into negative territory as traders digested slightly weaker-than-expected factory data and awaited the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting. Today's Markets As of 11:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50.9 points, or 0.38%, to 13214, the S&P 500 dipped 5.3 points, or 0.37%, to 1414 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2.8 points, 0.08%, to 3117. Despite being shortened by a day, this trading week is a crucial one from an economic reporting standpoint. The markets got better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data on Monday, and other important reports are slated for release up to the key monthly employment report from the Labor Department on Friday. Factory orders jumped 1.3% in February from the month prior, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. Economists expected a slightly larger 1.5% gain. Recent data have shown considerable improvement across the industrial sectors as the economy has recovered from the recession. Continue reading this article

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