Investing.com - U.S. stocks finished Wednesday lower after Federal Reserve officials said that stimulus programs could begin winding down this year, though equities trimmed earlier losses.
Stimulus tools, such as the Fed's USD85 billion bond-buying program, tend push up stock prices by keeping interest rates low, and talk of their dismantling can send equities prices falling by fueling uncertainty over how markets will react to waning monetary support.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.31%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.32%.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, a known policy dove, said Tuesday afternoon that he could not rule out the scale-back of stimulus measures at the bank’s September meeting, which watered down prices on Wednesday.
Other monetary authorities including Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher, Atlanta Fed Chief Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart and Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto made similar comments this week, which allowed stocks to fall.
Still, spotty economic indicators hitting the wire in the U.S. in recent sessions continued to cast doubt on Wednesday whether the Fed will decide in September or later in December, which allowed stocks to reverse some of their earlier losses.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Microsoft, up 1.52%, Hewlett-Packard, up 0.95%, and United Technologies, up 0.78%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Walt Disney, down 1.70%, Home Depot, down 1.55%, and Alcoa, down 1.52%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.01%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.15%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 0.47%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 1.41%.
On Thursday, markets will track U.S. initial jobless claims.
Stimulus tools, such as the Fed's USD85 billion bond-buying program, tend push up stock prices by keeping interest rates low, and talk of their dismantling can send equities prices falling by fueling uncertainty over how markets will react to waning monetary support.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.31%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.32%.
Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans, a known policy dove, said Tuesday afternoon that he could not rule out the scale-back of stimulus measures at the bank’s September meeting, which watered down prices on Wednesday.
Other monetary authorities including Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher, Atlanta Fed Chief Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart and Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto made similar comments this week, which allowed stocks to fall.
Still, spotty economic indicators hitting the wire in the U.S. in recent sessions continued to cast doubt on Wednesday whether the Fed will decide in September or later in December, which allowed stocks to reverse some of their earlier losses.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Microsoft, up 1.52%, Hewlett-Packard, up 0.95%, and United Technologies, up 0.78%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Walt Disney, down 1.70%, Home Depot, down 1.55%, and Alcoa, down 1.52%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.01%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.15%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 0.47%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 1.41%.
On Thursday, markets will track U.S. initial jobless claims.