US stocks erase a part of Tuesday's strong upsurge, FOMC minutes in focus

Major US equity indices opened with steep losses on Wednesday and eroded around 50% of previous session's strong upsurge. 

After yesterday's biggest daily gains since March, investors paused to digest a spate of corporate earnings, with concerns about rapidly rising bond yields and its impact on stock prices exerting some fresh downward pressure. 

Hence, today's key focus will remain on the latest FOMC meeting minutes, which might provide clues over the central bank's rate hike path beyond 2018 and eventually drive sentiment towards perceived riskier assets - like equities. 

On the economic data front, the US housing starts and building permits fell short of consensus estimates and did little to provide any fresh bullish impetus.

Meanwhile, expectations for stronger-than-expected corporate results might continue to attract some dip-buying at lower levels and might help limit immediate sharp downside. 

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 200-points to 25,592 and the broader S&P 500 Index lost around 14-points to 2,796. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped nearly 45-points and was seen flirting with the 7,600 round figure mark.