Stocks fell on Wednesday as Wall Street was weighed down by disappointing retail data and the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 170 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite slipped over 0.7% and 1% into the red, respectfully. The session's declines marked the Dow's first negative day in six.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.72% or -31.16 points to 4,274.04

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.50% or -171.69 points to 33,980.32

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -1.25% or -164.43 points to 12,938.12

Wednesday's minutes showed that the Federal Reserve expects to continue raising interest rates until inflationary pressures decline to a more normal level. However, policymakers noted that the pace of those rate hikes may slow at some point.

"Participants judged that, as the stance of monetary policy tightened further, it likely would become appropriate at some point to slow the pace of policy rate increases while assessing the effects of cumulative policy adjustments on economic activity and inflation," the minutes read.

Earlier in the session, traders assessed the Commerce Department's latest reading for retail sales in July, which saw sales remain little changed month-to-month. Excluding more volatile gas and auto sales, retail sales rose 0.7% in July.

Driving the headline reading was a drop in fuel prices throughout the month, with gas station sales falling 1.8% in July. Gas prices had risen above $5 a gallon on average earlier this summer, but are now under $4 per gallon on average nationally, according to AAA.

On the earnings front, disappointing results from Target (TGT  ) also weighed on market sentiment, with the retail giant's quarterly profit falling nearly 90% year-over-year. However, the company reiterated its full-year forecast--expecting revenue growth in the low to mid single digits--as the company is optimistic towards sales from the upcoming holiday season.

"If we hadn't dealt with our excess inventory head on, we could have avoided some short-term pain on the profit line, but that would have hampered our longer-term potential," CFO Michael Fiddelke on an earnings call Wednesday. "While our quarterly profit took a meaningful step down, our future path is brighter."

Target's report follows better-than-expected quarterly results from Walmart (WMT  ) on Tuesday that boosted the broader retail and consumer discretionary sectors.

Elsewhere, the meme stock rally continued for Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY  ) on Wednesday, with shares soaring over 25% after closing up 29% on Tuesday. During Tuesday's session, trading was halted twice due to volatility as retail investors increasingly bet on the stock.

Shares of Manchester United (MANU  ) also climbed higher on Wednesday after billionaire Elon Musk tweeted late Tuesday that he was thinking about buying the English football club. He later clarified that he was joking. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the football club is interested in selling a minority stake.

Looking ahead, traders will be assessing earnings from Cisco Systems (CSCO  ) after the bell.