Stocks fell in later market trading on Wednesday as stimulus optimism still remained high, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin set to maintain negotiations beyond the previously set 48-hour deadline. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox Business on Wednesday that both side of the aisle "share one goal, and that is hopefully to get some kind of deal in the next 48 hours or so." The extended timeline ushered in renewed doubts about near-term stimulus, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stoking pessimism towards a multi-trillion dollar package. Market volatility is set to remain as outlook remains uncertain on a few key issues including the U.S. presidential election and coronavirus vaccines.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book showed that U.S. economic growth had expanded at a "slight to modest" pace over the past seven weeks as consumer spending and residential real estate grew. However, the labor market still remains "tight" due to the ongoing pandemic and the restaurant industry is concerned about its future as colder weather sets in.

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

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.22% or -7.64 points to 3,435.48

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.35% or -98.10 points to 28,210.69

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.28% or -31.80 points to 11,484.69

For Major Stock News, Snap (SNAP  ) shares soared after the social media company reported a surprise third quarter profit. Netflix (NFLX  ) shares dragged down the broader market after the company missed expectations for earnings and subscriber growth. However, the streaming giant is optimistic towards forth quarter growth. PayPal (PYPL  ) shares rallied after the company unveiled a new feature that will allow users to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies. The service will initial launch in the U.S. and feature bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash and litecoin.

For Sector Performance, most industries ended the session with minimal performance losses. Communications Services (XLC  ) was the largest gainer, with mega-caps like Facebook (FB  ) and Google (GOOGL  ) bolstering positive performance gains, while Twitter (TWTR  ) reached a new intraday 52-week high. Energy (XLE  ) was the biggest loser, with the sector down about 8% for the past month due to market volatility and coronavirus demand fears.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) slumped to a seven-week low on Wednesday as stimulus optimism remained higher, sparking investors to take risker bets on other global currencies. The dollar index fell 0.47% to 92.605 during the session. Gold (GLD  ) prices rose conversely to their highest levels in over a week as market participants used as an inflation hedge for the potently upcoming stimulus package. Spot gold increased 1.1% to $1,926.46 per ounce, while gold futures settled 0.8% higher at $1,931 per ounce. Crude oil futures dropped much lower on Wednesday following U.S. inventory figures showing demand weakening for refined products. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) slipped 3.5% to $41.64 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) settled 4% lower at $40.03 per barrel. Both benchmarks rose in the previous session.

For Thursday, market participants will turn their attention to fresh data on weekly jobless claims, which are expected to total 860K. Quarterly earnings from companies like AT&T (T  ), Coca-Cola (KO  ) and Intel (INTC  ) are also set for release.