(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished with losses on Wednesday even as Fed said that the pace of economic activity has "picked up" since its last meeting in August. Investors were primarily spooked by central bank's announcement that it is slowing the pace of a program to lower mortgage rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 81.32 points or 0.83% to finish at 9,748.55. The S&P 500 subtracted 10.79 points or 1.01% to end at 1,060.87. The Nasdaq Composite fell 14.88 points or 0.69% to 2,131.42.
The US Federal Reserve ,on Wednesday, left interest rates unchanged, as expected. In the accompanying statement, the central bank said that "economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn. Conditions in financial markets have improved further, and activity in the housing sector has increased." However, it also said that it will slow purchases of mortgage debt to extend that program's life until the end of March.
Shares of JP Morgan (NYSE:
JPM) plunged $1.41 or 3.03% to $45.06. Citigroup (NYSE:
C) declined 13 cents or 2.80% to $4.52.
Networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:
CSCO) lost 61 cents or 2.61% to close at $22.80.
Shares of equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) plummeted $1.20 or 2.21% to $53.14.
Energy stocks finished with losses. Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) slid $1.26 or 1.73% to $71.37. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM) tumbled 61 cents or 1.25% to $68.96.
Shares of drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:
PFE) slumped 37 cents or 2.20% to $16.43.
Among gainers, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:
T) surged 63 cents or 2.38% to $27.13.
Early on Wednesday, auto-parts retailer AutoZone Inc. (NYSE:
AZO) after it said that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell 3.1% to $236.1 million, or $4.43 a share, from $243.7 million, or $3.88 a share, in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue increased 1% to $2.23 billion while same-store sales rose 5.4%.Shares plunged $11.42 or 7.47% to close at $141.50.
Shares of General Mills (NYSE:
GIS) rallied $2.83 or 4.64% to $63.80 after it reported Wednesday, that its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 51% $420.6 million, or $1.25 a share, compared to net income of $278.5 million, or 79 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Excluding items, earnings in the latest period were $1.28 a share. Revenue rose 0.6% to $3.52 billion.
H.B. Fuller Co. (NYSE:
FUL) announced that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose to $35.4 million, or 72 cents a share, from $21.7 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped to $315.3 million from $362 million. Shares of the company finished at $21.38, up 10 cents or 0.47%.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday that applications for mortgages increased 12.8% last week from the before due to strong refinancing activity.
European stocks settled lower. The UK FTSE lost 3.23 points or 0.06% to 5,139.37. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.13% and 0.05% respectively.
Asian stocks finished down. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 92.88 points or 0.43% to 21,608.26.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery declined $2.80 or 3.9% to settle at $68.96 a barrel.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
