U.S. stocks end mildly lower; ECB up next Federa

U.S. stocks end mildly lower; ECB up next
Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy decision largely as expected
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held pat on monetary policy and paved the way to further stimulus, with investors bracing for a gathering of European central bankers.
“Today’s announcement was priced in; the markets got exactly what they expected. The fireworks are tomorrow,” Jim Russell, chief equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said of expected stimulus from the European Central Bank after its meeting Thursday.
The U.S. central bank refrained from further easing moves, but noted economic activity had decelerated somewhat during the first half of the year.
“We feel that is an important acknowledgment by the Fed. We want the Fed to see what we are seeing, it opens up their ability to address with monetary policy, aggressively with scale,” said Russell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) retreated 32.55 points, or 0.3%, to 12,976.13.
The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) lost 4 points, or 0.3%, to 1,375.32, with energy the best performing and utilities the worst of its 10 major industry sectors.
The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) fell 19.31 points, or 0.7%, to 2,920.21.
Decliners outpaced advancers roughly nine to five on the New York Stock Exchange, where composite volume topped 4.3 billion. Nasdaq’s composite volume edged past 1.7 billion.
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