S&P 500, Dow end slightly lower after Fed releases meeting minutes

The U.S. stock market is ending with small losses after minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting in January showed that policymakers were in no hurry to raise interest rates.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell less than one point to end at 2,099 Wednesday after closing at all-time highs for two straight days. Energy companies led Wednesday's declines as the price of oil slid.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 18,029. The Nasdaq closed seven points higher at 4,906.

Government bonds rose after the release of the Fed's minutes. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell to 2.08 percent from 2.14 percent late Tuesday

The price of oil fell $1.39 to $52.14 a barrel.