NEW YORK (AP) – Wall Street stumbled Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting said more interest rate hikes might be necessary to curb inflation.

The minutes from the central bank’s meeting last month, coupled with a jump in gasoline prices, heightened investors’ inflation worries and pulled an already sagging stock market lower. Investors are concerned that a rate hike could curb corporate profits and consumer spending and further weaken the housing market by making mortgages more expensive.

The Fed has kept rates on hold since the summer, after raising rates gradually for two years.

In midafternoon trading, the Dow fell 94.59, or 0.75 percent, to 12,479.26.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 8.88, or 0.61 percent, to 1,439.51, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 19.13, or 0.77 percent, to 2,458.48.

Bonds rose moderately as stocks moved lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.71 percent from 4.72 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen, while gold prices were unchanged.

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