Stocks Struggled ahead of Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks struggled to advance in the early trading on Wednesday, ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 24.62 points, or 0.14%, to 17,578.70. The S&P 500 gained 0.55 points, or 0.03%, to 2,045.72. The Nasdaq Composite was up 15.53 points, or 0.32%, to 4,859.47.

Crude-oil prices were on a positive course Wednesday, driven by hopes that key global producers may agree to a production freeze later this month. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $36.86 a barrel. June Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 75 cents, or 2%, to $38.62 a barrel.

U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc agreed on Tuesday to terminate its $160 billion agreement to acquire Botox maker Allergan Plc, in a major victory to U.S. President Barack Obama’s drive to stop tax-dodging corporate mergers.

Telecom network equipment maker Nokia is planning to cut thousands of jobs globally, including 1,400 in Germany and 1,300 in its native Finland, as part of a cost-cutting program following the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent earlier this year.

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