[Screen Shot 2016 05 19 at 10.02.36 AM copy]Investing.com Nearly everything is selling off. Stocks opened lower and slid in early trading on Thursday. They gained ground in afternoon trading. After earlier being down about 1%, or nearly 200 points, the Dow was down 91 points near 2:23 p.m. ET. The S&P 500 was down 9 points, and the Nasdaq was off 34 points. Stocks closed virtually flat on Wednesday after sharp swings following the release of minutes from the Fed's April meeting. The Fed made specific mention of its forthcoming June meeting and said it could raise rates then if economic data warrants it. This was a more hawkish tone than markets had expected. And between now and the June meeting, speeches from FOMC members take on heightened importance for signals on what the Fed is likely to do, according to Deutsche Bank's Torsten Sløk. Remarks from a speech by Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer were released this morning but had virtually no comments on monetary policy. We also heard from New York Fed president Bill Dudley. According to Bloomberg, he told reporters that June is definitely a live meeting, and that a rate hike is reasonable if the economy meets his outlook. He said he's happy with what the market thinks about the odds of a rate hike in June or July, which jumped after the minutes crossed on Wednesday. On Thursday, gold fell 2%, or nearly $28 an ounce, to a three-week low of $1,244.50. Crude oil retreated 2%, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures falling to as low as $46.98 per barrel before returning above $48. But the dollar strengthened following the Fed minutes. The index that measures it against a basket of other major currencies rose to as high as 95.50, the highest level since late March. In economic data, initial jobless claims rose to 278,000 last week, down 16,000 but more than expected. And, the Philly Fed's manufacturing index fell to -1.8 from -1.6. NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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