New York  - US stocks slid on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve indicated the pace of the economic recovery was likely to be slow.

In minutes released from the central bank's meeting last month, the Fed predicted an end to the economic crisis in the second half of the year even as problems are expected to remain on the job market.

Still the majority of the central bankers said at the August 11-12 meeting that they expected recovery to be slow and stressed that the economy was "still vulnerable to adverse shocks."

The Federal Open Market Committee said business would likely remain cautious in hiring new workers and income growth would remain "sluggish" along with tight credit conditions for households. Business investment would also remain weak, due to excess capacity and credit conditions, the Fed said.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 29.93 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 9,280.67. The broader Standard and Poor's 500 Index fell 3.29 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 994.75. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.82 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,967.07.

The US currency fell against the euro to 70.10 euro cents from 70.34 euro cents on Tuesday and dropped against the Japanese currency to 92.24 yen from 92.94 yen. (dpa)