Wall Street was all over the place on Wednesday, with the Dow spending most of the day with shallow losses before settling 39 points lower. The S&P 500, meanwhile, logged a notable drop after Target's (TGT) quarterly results put a damper on recent sentiment. The Nasdaq also plummeted, shedding triple digits and erasing yesterday's win. 

The Fed's next move is still very much in focus, with the CME FedWatch tool showing an 85.4% chance of a 50-basis point rate hike for the December backdrop. Elsewhere, the 10-year Treasury yield continues to cool off, last seen below 3.7% and still inverted from the 2-year Treasury yield. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 33,553.83) lost 39.1 points or 0.1% for the day. McDonald's (MCD) led the Dow with a 1.7% win, while Salesforce (CRM) paced the laggards with a 4.3% drop.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,958.79) lost 32.9 points, or 0.8% for the day, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC - 11,183.66) lost 174.8 points or 1.5%.

Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 24.11) shed 0.4 points or 1.8% for the session.

OIL, GOLD PRICES INCH LOWER 

Oil prices settled at their lowest level in roughly three weeks as investors weigh waning demand in China against rising geopolitical tensions. December-dated crude lost $1.33, or 1.5% to trade at $86.59 per barrel.

Gold prices dropped again on Wednesday amid Fed uncertainty. The precious metal is cooling from its recent rebound, and today December-dated gold lost $1 or roughly 0.1%, to settle at $1,775.80 an ounce.

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