Investing.com - U.S. stocks gave back Wednesday's gains on Thursday after investors locked in gains from the Federal Reserve's decision to leave its bond-buying program unchanged and sold for profits.
The Fed said it was making no changes to its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, a surprise to many who were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim that figure slightly.
Fed asset purchases spur recovery by driving down interest rates, which makes stocks attractive assets, normally at the dollar's expense.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.26%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.18%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.15%.
The Fed's decision to keep monetary policy unchanged and ultra-loose sent stock prices soaring to levels ripe for profit taking on Thursday.
The Fed said the economy was showing signs of improvement though it still faced headwinds such as rising mortgage rates that could hamper recovery in the labor market, and held off on adjusting its asset-purchasing program.
Elsewhere, better-than-expected economic indicators released earlier renewed expectations that the Fed could begin tapering its asset purchases later this year, which added to selling.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to a 30-month high of 22.3 in September from 9.3 in August, blowing past expectations for an increase to 10.0.
Industry data revealed that U.S. existing home sales rose 1.7% to 5.48 million units last month, from 5.39 million in July. Analysts were expecting existing home sales to fall 2.6% to 5.25 million units in August.
Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000 in the week ending Sept. 14, from an upwardly revised 294,000 the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the number to rise by 36,000 to 330,000 last week.
Elsewhere, the U.S. current account deficit narrowed to USD98.9 billion in the second quarter, from an downwardly revised deficit of USD104.9 billion in the three months to March. Analysts were expecting the current account deficit to narrow to a USD97 billion.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Home Depot, up 1.50%, The Travelers Companies, up 1.15%, and Microsoft, up 1.05%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included UnitedHealth Group, down 3.00%, Hewlett-Packard, down 2.29%, and Walt Disney, down 2.06%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.74%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.85%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished rose 0.67%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 1.01%.
The Fed said it was making no changes to its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, a surprise to many who were expecting the U.S. central bank to trim that figure slightly.
Fed asset purchases spur recovery by driving down interest rates, which makes stocks attractive assets, normally at the dollar's expense.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.26%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.18%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.15%.
The Fed's decision to keep monetary policy unchanged and ultra-loose sent stock prices soaring to levels ripe for profit taking on Thursday.
The Fed said the economy was showing signs of improvement though it still faced headwinds such as rising mortgage rates that could hamper recovery in the labor market, and held off on adjusting its asset-purchasing program.
Elsewhere, better-than-expected economic indicators released earlier renewed expectations that the Fed could begin tapering its asset purchases later this year, which added to selling.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its Philly Fed manufacturing index rose to a 30-month high of 22.3 in September from 9.3 in August, blowing past expectations for an increase to 10.0.
Industry data revealed that U.S. existing home sales rose 1.7% to 5.48 million units last month, from 5.39 million in July. Analysts were expecting existing home sales to fall 2.6% to 5.25 million units in August.
Also on Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 309,000 in the week ending Sept. 14, from an upwardly revised 294,000 the previous week.
Analysts were expecting the number to rise by 36,000 to 330,000 last week.
Elsewhere, the U.S. current account deficit narrowed to USD98.9 billion in the second quarter, from an downwardly revised deficit of USD104.9 billion in the three months to March. Analysts were expecting the current account deficit to narrow to a USD97 billion.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Home Depot, up 1.50%, The Travelers Companies, up 1.15%, and Microsoft, up 1.05%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included UnitedHealth Group, down 3.00%, Hewlett-Packard, down 2.29%, and Walt Disney, down 2.06%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished higher.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.74%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.85%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished rose 0.67%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 1.01%.