U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling for the first time in 10 sessions, as investors were digesting the latest Federal Reserve statement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 53.36 points, or 0.24 percent, to 22,359.23. The S&P 500 lost 7.64 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,500.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 33.35 points, or 0.52 percent, to 6,422.69.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged, but announced that it will start to unwind its 4.5-trillion-U.S. dollar balance sheet from October, a further step to end the loose monetary policy.
"Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in July indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year," said the Fed in a statement released after its two-day monetary policy meeting.
The central bank said Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maris were expected to affect U.S. economy in the near term, while they would not alter the course of the economy in the medium term.
Fed officials continue to expect that the U.S. economy will expand at a moderate pace in the future.
"We're working down our balance sheet, because we feel that's stimulus that in some sense is no longer needed," said Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen at a press conference after the Fed meeting.
"The basic message here is U.S. economic performance has been good," she added.
On the economic front, in the week ending Sept. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department announced Thursday.
The four-week moving average was 268,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average.
Meanwhile, manufacturing firms reported an improvement in regional manufacturing conditions in September, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Business Outlook Survey Thursday.
The index for current manufacturing activity in the region increased 5 points to a reading of 23.8 and has remained positive for 14 consecutive months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 53.36 points, or 0.24 percent, to 22,359.23. The S&P 500 lost 7.64 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,500.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 33.35 points, or 0.52 percent, to 6,422.69.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged, but announced that it will start to unwind its 4.5-trillion-U.S. dollar balance sheet from October, a further step to end the loose monetary policy.
"Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in July indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year," said the Fed in a statement released after its two-day monetary policy meeting.
The central bank said Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maris were expected to affect U.S. economy in the near term, while they would not alter the course of the economy in the medium term.
Fed officials continue to expect that the U.S. economy will expand at a moderate pace in the future.
"We're working down our balance sheet, because we feel that's stimulus that in some sense is no longer needed," said Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen at a press conference after the Fed meeting.
"The basic message here is U.S. economic performance has been good," she added.
On the economic front, in the week ending Sept. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 259,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department announced Thursday.
The four-week moving average was 268,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average.
Meanwhile, manufacturing firms reported an improvement in regional manufacturing conditions in September, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Business Outlook Survey Thursday.
The index for current manufacturing activity in the region increased 5 points to a reading of 23.8 and has remained positive for 14 consecutive months.
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