* Morgan Stanley down after U.S. Fed claims misconduct
* FOMC minutes due at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT
* Indexes off: Dow, S&P; both 0.5 pct, Nasdaq 0.2 pct
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks edged lower on
Tuesday after a strong start to the second quarter and ahead of
the release of minutes from the most recent meeting of the
Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee.
Commerce Department data reinforced the view the domestic
economy was slowly improving as new orders for U.S. factory
orders rebounded in February, although the increase was short of
expectations.
“What we’ve seen is a whole series of datapoints over the
last six months that were just getting better every week, and
the last month or so we’ve seen some datapoints that are slowing
down a little bit, but nothing alarming,” said Doug Foreman,
director of equities at Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment
Management in Los Angeles.
“The market has just had a big move here, (is) probably
pausing, the pause that hopefully refreshes.”
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 60.44
points, or 0.46 percent, at 13,204.05. The Standard & Poor’s 500
Index was off 6.67 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,412.37.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 5.63 points, or 0.18
percent, at 3,114.07.
Financials were among the worst performers at midday. Morgan
Stanley lost 1.7 percent to $19.47 after the Federal
Reserve said it was taking an enforcement action against the
company for the way one of its mortgage servicing units handled
home loans.
The S&P; financial sector index dropped 1 percent.
Investors awaited minutes from the U.S. Federal Open Market
Committee’s March 13 meeting, due at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), that
may provide clues on any potential quantitative easing.
Federal Reserve policymakers on Monday signaled little
appetite for further monetary steps to stimulate U.S. growth in
an economy that is gradually strengthening.
reaction was muted.
General Motors Co fell 3.6 percent to $25.79 while
Ford Motor Co edged up 0.6 percent to $12.69 after U.S.
auto sales continued a robust pace in March.
On Monday, the S&P; 500 closed at its highest since mid-May
2008. The Dow scored its highest finish since Dec. 31, 2007,
while the Nasdaq once again closed at levels not seen since late
2000.
