U.S. Market Indexes Lower after Fed Meeting
U.S. market indexes were lower Wednesday after the Fed left rates unchanged. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17640.17 for a loss of -34.65 points or -0.20 percent. The S&P 500 was also down, closing at 2071.50 for a loss of -3.82 points or -0.18 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4834.93 for a loss of -8.62 points or -0.18 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was down for the day with a loss of -0.38 points or -1.85 percent at 20.12.
Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.
Wednesday’s Market Movers
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee left the federal funds rate unchanged at 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent. It also lowered its outlook for future rate increases. The slowed pace of rates weighed on market trading Wednesday with stocks broadly lower.
The day’s leading economic indicator included Industrial Production which also weighed on stock valuations as the reading was lower than expected at -0.4 percent. Consensus for industrial production was -0.1 percent and the month’s report was down from the previous month’s 0.6 percent.
Stocks were actively traded for the day as the FOMC released its June meeting report. Actively traded stocks with gains included Bank of America, General Electric and Ford. Stocks trading actively with losses included Chesapeake Energy, Microsoft and Apple.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stocks leading gains and losses included:
Losses (percent)
Intel -1.59
Cisco -1.04
Johnson & Johnson -0.64
Travelers -0.63
Pfizer -0.6
Gains (percent)
Home Depot 1.07
American Express 0.59
General Electric 0.56
Nike 0.41
Caterpillar 0.35
Top sectors reporting losses for the broad market included utilities and healthcare. In technology the Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4834.93 for a loss of -8.62 points or -0.18 percent. The Nasdaq 100 was also lower at 4409.51 for a loss of -15.40 points or -0.35 percent. In the technology sector, stocks leading losses included:
Liberty Media -7.69 percent
Discovery Communications -6.02 percent
Intel -1.65 percent
In commodities, gold traded higher as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a gain of 0.91 percent or 0.74 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.34 points or -0.36 percent at 94.59.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 was higher for the day with a gain of 1.48 points or 0.13 percent, closing at 1149.30. The S&P 600 closed at 703.71 for a loss of -0.19 points or -0.03 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Growth TSM was higher at 7036.63 for a gain of 17.12 points or 0.24 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Value TSM was higher at 8255.01 for a gain of 12.06 points or 0.15 percent.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1479.97 for a gain of 2.54 points or 0.17 percent; the S&P 100 closing at 915.73 for a loss of -2.73 points or -0.30 percent; the Russell 3000 which closed at 1222.18 for a loss of -1.37 points or -0.11 percent; the Russell 1000 closing at 1147.13 for a loss of -1.51 points or -0.13 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 594.03 for a loss of -1.74 points or -0.29 percent.
