Stocks up slightly...Fed minutes show cautious support for December rate hike...Mortgage rates steady

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes are slightly lower in afternoon trading on Wall Street. Technology companies are taking some of the largest losses, and banks are down amid expectations of slower increases in interest rates. Health care companies, which have done far better than the rest of the stock market recently, continue to rise. The S&P 500 index is coming off its largest rally in eight months and has climbed 4 percent this week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials earlier this month appeared on track to raise its key interest rate again in December, but they signaled that the pace of future rate hikes might need to slow given emerging risks to the economy. Minutes of the Fed's Nov. 7-8 meeting show support for a fourth hike this year if the labor market and inflation meet or exceed expectations. But officials expressed concerns about a variety of threats, including the impact of tariffs, a slowing global economy and tightening financial conditions amid falling stock prices.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates barely budged this week after marking the biggest drop in nearly four years last week. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage held steady at 4.81 percent this week. That compares with 3.90 percent a year ago. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans edged up to 4.25 percent from 4.24 percent the previous week.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — General Motors' No. 2 executive is moving from Motor City to Silicon Valley to run the automaker's self-driving car operations. GM President Dan Ammann will become CEO of the company's Cruise Automation subsidiary at the beginning of next year. He will replace Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt, who will become chief technology officer. The transition comes as Cruise gears up to up introduce a ride-hailing service deploying its driverless technology in GM's Chevy Bolt next year.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico has completed its first debt-restructuring deal since the government announced it was bankrupt more than three years ago. The agreement was finalized with creditors holding nearly $4.2 billion in debt issued by the now defunct Government Development Bank. The bank once issued loans and oversaw debt transactions for the U.S. territory. The government says its Debt Recovery Authority has issued nearly $2.6 billion in bonds to creditors, who will receive $550 of bonds for each $1,000 that they held.

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