By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
U.S. economy grew at a 0.2% annualized pace in first quarter
U.S. stocks ended Wednesday's volatile session lower after the
Federal Reserve left open the chance of an interest-rate hike as
early as June, in a statement following its two-day policy
meeting.
However, market expectations remained for a rate hike later in
the year following poor economic indicators over the past several
months. Read: Fed not ready to concede it won't hike this summer
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-not-ready-to-concede-it-wont-hike-this-summer-2015-04-27)
The central bank said it expects the U.S. economy to rebound and
attributed a slowdown in the first quarter to transitory factors,
in a statement released at 2 p.m. Eastern Time
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/text-of-fed-statement-on-interest-rates-2015-04-29)
Wednesday.
Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global
Investors, said investors should not be worried about whether the
rate hike will start in June or September.
"The Fed may be in a hurry to start the process of raising
rates, but they are really not in a hurry to get them to normal
levels in a hurry," Hooper said.
Read: Fed expects economy to recover as it keeps rate options
open
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-expects-economy-to-recover-as-it-keeps-rate-options-open-2015-04-29)
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 7.91 points, or 0.4%, lower at
2,106.85. Health care, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples
companies led losers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 74.61 points, or
0.4%, to 18,035.53. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended the session
down 31.78 points, or 0.6%, at 5,023.64.
Earlier, government data showed that the U.S. economy grew at a
meager 0.2% annualized pace
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-gdp-barely-grows-in-first-quarter-2015-04-29)in
the first quarter, a period marked by severe weather, a major port
dispute and a soaring dollar that curbed American exports.
The disappointing GDP number added more pressure on the dollar
(DXY), which was hitting its lowest level against the euro in more
than a month on Wednesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-hits-3-week-low-against-euro-ahead-of-gdp-fed-statement-2015-04-29).
Also read: The dollar is bucking a time-tested trend
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-dollar-is-bucking-a-time-tested-trend-2015-04-29)
One bright spot in the economy was March pending home sales,
which showed an increase for the third straight month
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marchs-gauge-of-pending-home-sales-highest-since-mid-2013-2015-04-29),
hitting the highest level since 2013, according to the National
Association of Realtors.
Earnings: Shares of flooring company Lumber Liquidators(LL)
tumbled 20% after it posted a loss in the first quarter and
announced that it was facing criminal charges
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lumber-liquidators-says-doj-is-seeking-criminal-charges-against-the-company-2015-04-29).
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.(HLT) shares rose 1.1% after it
reported a 25% rise in first-quarter earnings per share.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hilton-posts-22-rise-in-first-quarter-profit-2015-04-29)
Movers & shakers: Shares of Twitter Inc.(TWTR) tumbled 8.9%,
after slumping 18% on Tuesday following the early release of
quarterly results that showed revenue growth
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-revenue-disappoints-shares-tumble-2015-04-28-16485335)
fell short of expectations. GoPro Inc.(GPRO) surged 13%. The maker
of wearable video cameras said late Tuesday that its first-quarter
profit jumped 52%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gopros-profit-up-sharply-on-rising-popularity-2015-04-28).
Salesforce.com Inc. shares (CRM) surged 12% in late trade
Wednesday, after news that software company has hired advisers to
weigh a takeover inquiry.
For more stock moves look here at Movers and Shakers
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/time-warner-mastercard-fiat-chrysler-lumber-liquidators-earnings-in-focus-2015-04-28).
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gopros-profit-up-sharply-on-rising-popularity-2015-04-28)
Other markets: European stock markets seesawed between small
gains and losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid)
as investors continued to monitor the progress in Greece's bailout
talks. Asia closed mostly lower
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), with Hong Kong
shares down 0.2%.
Gold futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-lower-ahead-of-fed-statement-2015-04-29)
fell and settled 0.3% lower at $1,210. Oil futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) rallied 2.7% to
settle at $58.58 a barrel, thanks to a decline in crude
supplies.
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