DOW - Not too bad!

Dow

12,393.90

-6.13

-0.05%

By: Abby Schultz, JeeYeon Park

Stocks ended mixed as tech stocks lost steam despite earlier gains driven by M&A activity, and as stocks bumped up against recent highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.13 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 12,393.90, the first time it's fallen in three days. The blue-chip index had edged up to the highest level since June 2008 on Monday

The S&P 500 fell 0.24 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 1,332.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,791.19. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell below 17.


Minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy setting meeting released Tuesday afternoon indicated Fed officials had differing views over how long the Fed should maintain an easy monetary policy.


Some economists and strategists believe it's time for the Fed to put the brakes on its monetary stimulus program, or to even raise interest rates, because the economy is growing. Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management, said the economy is expanding, but, he says, "we think the Fed is OK in taking the go-slow approach, because there is so much slack in the economy."

That slack, including high unemployment, means wages are unlikely to go up, "so the Fed is safe in keeping rates low," Cote said.