Disappointing retail sales data and a profit miss from Target (TGT) dumped cold water on Wall Street today. The Dow snapped a five-day win streak -- its longest since May -- to settle 171 points lower. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 logged its first loss in four sessions, and the Nasdaq logged a triple-digit dip as well.

What's more, the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes revealed the central bank is not yet content with inflation rates and plans to move forward with aggressive interest rate hikes. However, the Fed also noted it may slow its economic tightening due to the state of the economy, and the risks its hawkish policy poses to gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 33,980.32) lost 171.7 points or 0.5% for the day. IBM (IBM) led the gainers, adding 0.9%. Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) paced the laggards, falling 2.8%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,274.04) fell 31.2 points or 0.7% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 12,938.12) shed 164.4 points or 1.3% for the session.

Lastly, the Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX - 19.90) rose 0.2 points or 1.1% for the day.

OIL PRICES SNAP LOSING STREAK ON LOWER INVENTORIES

Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday to snap a three-day losing streak. Today's pop came after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced drops in crude and gasoline inventories, with the former falling by 7.1 million barrels last week. As a result, September-dated crude added $1.58, or 1.8%, to settle at $88.11 per barrel on the day.

Meanwhile, gold prices finished lower, making their worst close in two weeks. However, the yellow metal started to bounce back in electronic trading, in response to the Fed's meeting minutes. Nevertheless, December-dated gold shed $13, or 0.7%, to close at $1,776.70 an ounce.

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