MarketView for July 11

Summary

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq felt the effects of lost confidence by the Street on Wednesday as minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting showed policymakers are open to the idea of more economic stimulus, but that conditions might need to worsen first.

It was a fifth day of losses for the Dow. The S&P 500 ended unchanged, breaking a four-day losing streak, after paring losses into the close. Technology and industrials led the downward spiral of share prices, as the market was hit by a number of high-profile earnings warnings in recent days.

Investors were hoping the Fed's June minutes would suggest the central bank was getting closer to another round of stimulus. The lack of clues prompted selling in all three major indexes, though stocks pared losses just ahead of the close.

The Nasdaq was the worst performer of the three major indexes. Network gear maker Adtran warned about third-quarter revenue, driving its stock down 15.4 percent to $23.01 and hitting shares of its rivals. Juniper Networks  fell 1.1 percent to $14.68, and Ciena lost 7.9 percent to $14.15.

The warning followed weaker forecasts earlier this week from chipmakers, including Advanced Micro Devices. Its stock slid 2 percent to $4.89 on Wednesday.

Some expect earnings disappointments from major technology companies this earnings season. They say estimates for tech names are likely to go down.

Helping to support the S&P 500 were financials, which gained after four days of losses. The financial index .GSPF was up 0.8 percent. Some banks, including JPMorgan Chase up 1 percent at $34.59, are due to report results on Friday.

Other earnings warnings included Hhgregg, which forecast a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter and cut its full-year outlook. Its stock sank 36.4 percent to $7.34. Rival Best Buy slumped 8.4 percent to $19.37.

Among the day's economic data, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 3.8 percent in May, helped by a rise in exports, including those bound for Europe and China. But economists warned it might not last.

After the close, shares of hotel chain Marriott International fell 0.5 percent to $37.84 following the release of its results.

Volume was lighter than average with about 6.02 billion shares changing hands on the three major equity exchanges, as compared with the year-to-date daily average of 6.85 billion shares.