Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.4%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.6%), and DJIA (+0.1%) have shed over half their previous gains as the market reacts to the release of the January FOMC minutes. 

Of particular note, several participants indicated that they would have supported a two-sided description of the Committee's future interest rate decisions, reflecting the possibility that upward adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate could be appropriate if inflation remains at above-target levels.

The prospect of a rate hike largely contradicts the market's previous view that while the next rate cut remained several months away, multiple cuts were still expected this year. 

In turn, growth stocks have seen the most profit-taking this afternoon. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (+0.4%) and Russell 2000 (+0.4%) both sported gains wider than 1.0% earlier in the session.