U.S. stocks reversed early gains to end lower Wednesday, with all three major indices notching a five-day losing streak, as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after the conclusion of its two-day meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.65 points, or 0.20 percent, to 17,640.17. The S&P 500 lost 3.82 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,071.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 8.62 points, or 0.18 percent, to 4,834.93.
In a statement released after the meeting, Fed officials gave a mixed assessment about the U.S. economy, saying that the labor market has slowed its improvement pace, while growth in economic activity appeared to have picked up since April. The Fed continued to lean toward hiking rates, but the Fed's "dot plot," which contains the interest rate forecasts of Fed officials, shows that six members now believe there will be just one rate hike this year, up from one member in March.
"Caution is all the more appropriate, given that short term interest rates are still near zero, which means that monetary policy can more effectively respond to surprisingly strong inflation pressures in the future than to a wakening labor market and falling inflation," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in a press conference Wednesday.
On the economic front, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand increased 0.4 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, beating market consensus, the U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday.
Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production decreased 0.4 percent in May after increasing 0.6 percent in April, the Fed said Wednesday.
The June 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that business activity expanded modestly for New York manufacturers. The headline general business conditions index climbed fifteen points to 6.0.
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