US markets end lower after Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged

29 Apr 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to maintain its ultra-easy policy. The Fed left interest rates and asset purchases unchanged even as the central bank upgraded its assessment of the US economy. The Fed once again kept the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent. The Fed also reiterated that it expects rates to remain at near-zero levels until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with its assessments of maximum employment and inflation is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time. Citing progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, the Fed noted indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened, which reflects a modest upgrade from last month, when the central bank said the indicators have turned up recently.

The Fed also said the sectors most adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic remain weak but have shown improvement. After previously saying inflation continues to run below 2 percent, the Fed now acknowledges that inflation has risen but largely attributed the increase to transitory factors. It also said risks to the economic outlook remain due to the ongoing public health crisis, although that reflects an improvement from last month, when the Fed cited considerable risks to the economic outlook. Besides, traders were also reacting to the latest earnings reports from several big-name companies, including some megacap technology stocks. Shares of Alphabet moved sharply higher after the Google parent reported better than expected first quarter results and announced a $50 billion stock buyback.

Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 164.55 points or 0.48 percent to 33,820.38, Nasdaq fell 39.19 points or 0.28 percent to 14,051.03 and S&P 500 was down by 3.54 points or 0.08 percent to 4,183.18.

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