Stocks fell on Wednesday following the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) minutes for July. Previously, the S&P 500 had reached a new intraday high and Apple (AAPL  ) rose 0.1% to briefly touch over a $2 billion market capitalization, making its the first Wall Street stock to due so. FOMC members noted during July's meeting that consumer spending trends have been improving since the beginning of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. Yet, the committee concluded that overall economic activity remained pressured by the pandemic, causing the central bankers to keep interest rates at their currently low levels.

"Members agreed that the ongoing public health crisis would weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term and was posing considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," FOMC wrote in a statement. "In light of these developments, members decide to maintain the target range or the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25%. Members stated that they expected to maintain this target range until they were confident that the economy had weather recent events and was on track to achieve the Committee's maximum employment and price stability goals."

Here's how the market settled for the mid-week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.44% or -14.87 points to 3,374.91

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.31% or -85.12 points to 27,692.95

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.57% or -64.38 points to 11,146.46

For Major Stock News, Airline stocks--American (AAL  ), Delta (DAL  ), Southwest (LUV  ) and United (UAL  )--rose after Southwest announced that it had seen a small increase in travel demand despite the ongoing pandemic. Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA  ) shares rose nearly 70% after Johnson & Johnson (JNJ  ) announced it had entered a deal to purchase the drugmaker for $6.5 billion in cash, or $54.50 per share. The biotech BioMarin (BMRN  ) shares fell over 35% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the company's gene therapy treatment for hemophilia.

For Sector Performance, all industries ended Wednesday's session lower following FOMC's discouraging forecast: Real Estate -2.01%, Energy -1.16%, Consumer Staples -0.73%, Consumer Discretionary -0.72%, Communication Services -0.45%, Health Care -0.35%, Materials -0.32%, Utilities -0.32%, Industrials -0.28%, Information Technology -0.27%, and Financials -0.08%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) gained on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve floated that it may keep its aggressive stimulus measures for longer than it previously expected. Gold (GLD  ) prices fell as investors moved toward the dollar, with spot gold dropping 1.6% to $1,968.84 per ounce and futures slipping 1.7% to $1,979.20 per ounce. Crude oil prices continued to remain steady on Wednesday as investors still remain uncertain about the global economic future as the coronavirus pandemic remains a major risk. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) tick lower at $45.33 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate ticked higher at $42.93 per barrel.

For Thursday, market participants are expecting the Labor Department's weekly unemployment claims report to continue falling. E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA  ) is also set to deliver quarterly earnings.