Stocks Opened Lower before Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 44.04 points, or 0.25%, to 17,485.94. The S&P 500 was down 2.39 points, or 0.12%, to 2,044.82. The Nasdaq Composite gained 10.40 points, or 0.22%, to 4,726.13.

Shares of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) gained more than 2 percent in the premarket Wednesday after Goldman Sachs’ bullish call on the electric car maker’s stock. Goldman upgraded Tesla to “buy” from “neutral,” saying it sees a 22 percent upside to its six-month price target of $250.

Brent crude prices eased on Wednesday as the impact of unplanned supply disruptions in Nigeria and Canada was tempered by rising supplies elsewhere. Brent crude futures were trading at $49.11 a barrel at 1135 GMT, 17 cents below their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were flat at $48.31 a barrel.

Andersons Inc. (ANDE) said Wednesday that it rejected an unsolicited buyout bid from former hedge-fund manager Philip Falcone’s HC2 Holdings Inc. for $37 a share in cash.

Target Corp.’s first-quarter sales missed analysts’ estimates and the discount chain delivered a disappointing forecast. Target’s same-store sales gained 1.2 percent in the period, which ended April 30. The company expects same-store sales to range from flat to down as much as 2 percent in the second quarter. Earnings will be $1 to $1.20 a share, excluding some items.