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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were mostly lower Wednesday, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes later in the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) dipped 27 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) lost 13 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 (SPX) flipped between small gains and losses.
Tech stocks were big gainers Wednesday, with Netflix (NFLX), Research in Motion (RIMM), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) and Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) all gaining ground.
The Fed will put out the minutes of its latest policymaking meeting Wednesday afternoon. Investors will be sorting through the report to gain insight into the central bank's latest decision to extend its Operation Twist program through the end of the year, and for clues about whether any further central bank intervention is looming.
Investors have been watching for any signs of another round of quantitative easing -- this time called QE3.
While that would likely shake up markets, it wouldn't do much for very long, according to Kim Caughey Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
"It doesn't fix a darn thing," she said. "It's a shot of energy, a Red Bull for the market. It doesn't last long, but it feels great when it's happening and makes asset prices rise. It's the United States' way of kicking the can down the road."
Investors also continued to digest the latest moves out of Europe. In a speech to parliament, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country would cut €65 billion ($79.6 billion) in less than three years by reducing government spending and raising taxes. Meeting budget-deficit reduction targets would require austerity and more efficiency, he said.
"We will significantly reduce the number of public institutions," Rajoy promised.
The speech came after European finance ministers agreed late Monday to offer the struggling country an initial €30 billion by the end of the month to help bail out its troubled banks. Yields for Spanish 10-year bonds, which have hovered around the perilous 7% level in recent weeks, fell to 6.59% Wednesday.
U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as worries about corporate earnings falling short of expectations unnerved investors. No major corporate results are expected Wednesday, though reports are due later in the week from JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).
World markets: European stocks finished mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) slid 0.1% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) fell 0.5%, while the DAX (DAX) in Germany rose 0.2%.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) added 0.5% and the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong edged higher by 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei (N225) fell 0.1%.
Economy: The U.S. trade deficit stood at $48.7 billion in May, coming in just slightly below expectations. It dropped from $50.1 billion the prior month.
As expected, wholesale inventories for May increased by 0.3%.
The Federal Reserve will release its minutes at 2 p.m. ET.
Companies: When JPMorgan reports earnings Friday, the bank is expected to show how much it has lost so far due to the risk-taking of its London Whale trader. The report could generate even more interest if, as The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, the bank will make an example of executives behind the errors and reclaim stock from them worth millions.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen, but was slightly lower versus the British pound.
Oil for August delivery rose $1.44 to $85.35 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $6.60 to $1,574.30 an ounce.
Corn futures for December delivery jumped as much as 4.3% to $7.48 per bushel, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the corn crop will average just 146 bushels an acre this year due to the Midwest drought. That's down from the USDA's June estimate of 166 bushels per acre.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.51% from 1.50% late Tuesday.
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