U.S. stocks fell modestly Wednesday ahead of a key economic report and after Federal Reserve officials indicated more interest-rate hikes are likely.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28.67 points, or 0.10%, to 29,210.52. The S&P 500 declined 11.90 points, or 0.33%, to 3,576.94, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 9.09 points, or 0.09%, to 10,417.10.

The Labor Department will release September's consumer price index (CPI) on Thursday. The CPI is a key inflation gauge, as it measures price changes in myriad common goods and services.

On Wednesday, the Fed released minutes of the September meeting where it increased interest rates by 0.75% to battle inflation. Officials said inflation remains the central bank's top concern and that more rate hikes were likely and would remain high until inflation slows.

Some of the stocks that fell included Apple (AAPL), which closed at $138.34, down $0.64, or 0.46%. Twitter's (TWTR) price of shares fell $0.14, or 0.28%, to close at $49.93.

"Prices remain elevated so it shouldn't be a surprise to see producer goods and services rise. Keep in mind the increase is still below what we were seeing consistently month after month earlier this year," Mike Loewengart of Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office told CNBC. "No doubt the Fed still has its work cut out for them, and if tomorrow's CPI read is hot, don't be surprised to see some investors come to grips with how long the road to tamer inflation may be."