The Federal Reserve alerted bank officials on Tuesday that policy makers were considering a shift on when to begin easing back on stimulus efforts, a day before the news was released publicly, but it insisted there was no evidence traders on Wall Street had benefited from what was called an error.

Markets rallied after the release Wednesday morning of the minutes from the March meeting. They were released five hours earlier than originally planned because a Fed official mistakenly e-mailed them Tuesday afternoon to a host of legislative staff members and bank representatives.

The disclosure raised eyebrows both in Washington and on Wall Street, and legal and compliance departments at the banks were poring over e-mail records to determine exactly what transpired because of the early release.

Several banks declined to comment. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs said the employee who received the e-mail did not share its contents with anyone or act upon it in any way.