U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday due to a decline in energy stocks and increased confidence in the possibility of a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed). In U.S. economic news, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that a December rate hike is a "live possibility," depending on the data. In prepared remarks for her testimony before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on bank regulation and supervision, she said that banks are much healthier but problems remain. The non-manufacturing ISM October report showed a rise to 59.1 from 56.9 the prior month. The ADP employment report showed private companies added 182,000 jobs in October. September's trade deficit came in at $40.8 billion, its lowest level in seven months. In international economic news, European stocks closed mixed, with Volkswagen weighing on the DAX but the STOXX Europe 600 up about half a percent. In corporate news, Tesla reported an adjusted quarterly loss and in-line revenue, but focused more on an upbeat production outlook for the electric car maker. The dollar traded about 0.8 percent higher against major world currencies. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery dropped $1.58 to $46.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures declined $7.90 to $1,106.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41, or 0.23 percent, to 17,876. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 7, or 0.33 percent, to 2,102. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 4, or 0.08 percent, to 5,141.
