Dow, Nasdaq weighed down by Microsoft, Amgen; all eyes on Fed
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Shivani Kumaresan
Reuters
(Reuters) - The Dow and Nasdaq indexes fell on Wednesday as Amgen and Microsoft weighed, while investors focused on a Federal Reserve meeting for updates on monetary policy and waited for another batch of earnings from big technology firms.
The U.S. central bank s policy statement is expected to largely follow the mold established in December, when the Fed said it would not change monetary policy until there was substantial further progress in meeting its maximum employment and 2% inflation goals. The statement is due at 2 p.m. EDT.
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(Reuters) - Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates and its monthly bond-buying program steady and gave no sign it was ready to reduce its support for the recovery.
Despite the improving economy, the Fed repeated the guidance it has used since December, saying it must see “substantial further progress” towards its inflation and employment goals before stepping back from its monthly bond purchases.
“The Fed underscored a lot of uncertainty remains. In this kind of a backdrop, with inflation being transitory, they’ll continue to be pedal to the metal in terms of monetary policy,” said Kevin Flanagan, head of fixed income strategy at WisdomTree Funds.
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The markets pushed to record highs this week, but Wall Street’s three main indices eased a bit on Thursday.
“It’s end-of-year optimism and the market is looking ahead after a tumultuous trading year, given the COVID, the election and the Fed,” Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC, told Reuters.
The S&P 500 has rallied almost 70% since its March low, and it is now set for a more than 15% yearly gain. The Nasdaq was also set to record a 43% gain in its best yearly performance since 2009 after the rally in tech mega-caps like Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Netflix. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average is also showing a modest 6.4% gain.
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