NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks finished mostly lower Wednesday after a shortlived jump that came when the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes cast doubt on an interest rate hike in June.

As the markets closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 26.92 points (0.15 per cent) at 18,285.47.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 2.01 (0.09 per cent) to 2,125.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 1.71 (0.03 per cent) to 5,071.74.

Stocks spiked higher briefly in the afternoon after the Federal Reserve published the minutes of its April 28-29 monetary policy meeting.

"Many participants" at the meeting "thought it unlikely that the data available in June would provide sufficient confirmation that the conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate had been satisfied," the minutes said, although they did not rule out the possibility.