NEW YORK, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday as Wall Street digested the Federal Reserve's latest statement on monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 162.77 points, or 0.61 percent, to 26,430.14. The S&P 500 was down 22.10 points, or 0.75 percent, to 2,923.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 45.75 points, or 0.57 percent, to 8,049.64.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged after concluding a two-day policy meeting.
The Fed also dashed hopes for an early rate cut.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference that the central bank's policy stance "is appropriate" at the moment and "we don't see a strong case for moving in either direction."
All the three major indexes erased early gains and turned negative after Powell's remarks.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with energy and materials down 2.17 percent and 1.84 percent, respectively, leading the laggards.
The market movement came after the release of strong jobs data, which helped lift market mood in early session.
U.S. private sector employment increased by 275,000 jobs from March to April, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing reported on Wednesday. The reading beat economists' consensus surveyed by Econoday for 180,000 jobs added.
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