U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors took profits ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting that is expected to announce a rate hike. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 75.70 points, or 0.43 percent, to 17,492.30. The S&P 500 inched down 15.97 points, or 0. 77 percent, to 2,047.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 75.38 points, or 1.48 percent, to 5,022.87.
Dow Chemical and DuPont were in talks to combine, in what would be one of the largest transactions in a year full of huge deals, Wall Street Journal reported. Shares of the two companies jumped more than 10 percent in the early session Wednesday. Chevron and Exxon Mobil were among the top advancers as well, boosted by gains in oil prices on Wednesday. The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rebounded 2.32 percent in the early trading Wednesday, and Brent crude for January delivery rose 1.94 percent. But oil prices shed earlier session gains and turned lower Wednesday afternoon as traders disregarded the falling crude stockpiles. The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery moved down 35 cents to settle at 37.16 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery decreased 15 cents to close at 40.11 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
In Asia markets, Tokyo stocks lost ground following a disappointing showing overnight on U.S. and European bourses on concerns for the global economic recovery, and robust machinery orders data there failed to lift the market mood. China's stocks closed mixed, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.07 percent. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, dipped 0.88 percent.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 11.42 percent to end at 19.61 on Wednesday.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar fell against other major currencies as investors cut long positions on the dollar against yen and euro ahead of the Fed policy meeting. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 1.10 percent at 97.393 in late trading. Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as the U.S. dollar weakened. The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 1.2 dollars, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 1,076.50 dollars per ounce.
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