Investing.com - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday on talk the Federal Reserve may be closer to tapering off its monetary stimulus programs due to improving economic indicators.
Monetary stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program push down interest rates and flood the economy with liquidity, a combination that sends stock prices rising as a side effect.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.69%, the S&P 500 index ended down 0.70%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.61%.
On Tuesday, the Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 76.2 in May, a five-year high, from 69.0 in April, surging past expectations for a reading of 71.0.
Elsewhere, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. home price index rose 10.9% in March from a year earlier, above expectations for 10.2% and the biggest increase since April 2006.
The numbers sent stocks gaining initially though by Wednesday, stocks fell amid market concerns that improving economic indicators will prompt the Fed to taper the pace of its bond-buying program, known technically as quantitative easing.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that monetary authorities will pay close attention to economic data when deciding when to address making changes to stimulus policies.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Hewlett-Packard, up 2.43%, Bank of America, up 1.05%, and Cisco Systems, up 0.96%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Coca-Cola, down 2.68%, Pfizer, down 2.48%, and Verizon Communications, down 2.42%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.74%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.89%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 1.70%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 1.99%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release revised data on first-quarter economic growth along with a weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.
Monetary stimulus tools such as the Fed's USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program push down interest rates and flood the economy with liquidity, a combination that sends stock prices rising as a side effect.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.69%, the S&P 500 index ended down 0.70%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.61%.
On Tuesday, the Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 76.2 in May, a five-year high, from 69.0 in April, surging past expectations for a reading of 71.0.
Elsewhere, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. home price index rose 10.9% in March from a year earlier, above expectations for 10.2% and the biggest increase since April 2006.
The numbers sent stocks gaining initially though by Wednesday, stocks fell amid market concerns that improving economic indicators will prompt the Fed to taper the pace of its bond-buying program, known technically as quantitative easing.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that monetary authorities will pay close attention to economic data when deciding when to address making changes to stimulus policies.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Hewlett-Packard, up 2.43%, Bank of America, up 1.05%, and Cisco Systems, up 0.96%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Coca-Cola, down 2.68%, Pfizer, down 2.48%, and Verizon Communications, down 2.42%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 1.74%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.89%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 1.70%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 1.99%.
On Thursday, the U.S. is to release revised data on first-quarter economic growth along with a weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on pending home sales.