UPDATE: U.S. congressional committee is asking DoJ to investigate Amazon for possible criminal obstruction of Congress: WSJ

A U.S. congressional committee is asking the Justice Department to investigate Amazon.com Inc. and some of its executives for a potential criminal obstruction of Congress, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter and a letter it has obtained. The letter is dated March 9 and addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from Democratic and Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee. The letter accuses Amazon of refusing to provide information that lawmakers wanted as part of a probe by the body's Antitrust Subcommittee into Amazon's competitive practices. The letter alleges that the refusal was an attempt to cover up what it calls a lie that the company told lawmakers about its treatment of outside sellers on its platform. "There's no factual basis for this, as demonstrated in the huge volume of information we've provided over several years of good faith cooperation with this investigation," an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Shares were up 1.7% premarket, but have fallen 11% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.