By Dan Strumpf And Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stocks held onto their losses Wednesday after a statement
from the Federal Reserve signaled that interest-rate increases are
still possible in the coming months, though the timing remains
uncertain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently traded down 50 points,
or 0.3%, to 18063, while the S&P 500 was five points lower, or
0.3%, to 2109 . The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 24 points, or 0.5%,
to 5032.
The Fed statement, on the heels of a two-day policy meeting,
attributed the economy's first-quarter slowdown to "transitory
factors," an indication that the central bank hasn't ruled out
higher interest rates in the months ahead.
The statement came just hours after a report from the Commerce
Department showed the U.S. economy grew a paltry 0.2% in the first
quarter. The reading came in well below the 1% expansion forecast
by economists, and marks a significant downshift from the 2.2% pace
of growth in the fourth quarter.
Still, the report gave few new clues about the specific timing
or pace of rate increases, which are widely expected to be slow and
methodical, traders said. Major stock benchmarks were little moved
by the central bank's 2 p.m. statement.
Moves across financial markets were also muted. The dollar pared
losses against the euro but remained sharply weaker on the day
following the release of disappointing U.S. GDP growth figures for
the first quarter.
Treasury bonds also stayed lower after the Fed statement, which
didn't offer a clear signal on the timing of any interest-rate
increase. U.S. bond prices had sunk before the Fed's statement and
the yield on the 10-year note hit a six-week high of 2.08%, along
with a broad selloff in government debt markets in Europe.
"It's a nonevent," said Tom Carter, managing director at
brokerage firm JonesTrading, who added that the sharp selloff in
European markets was attracting more attention from investors.
"Europe's the bigger story."
Stocks in Europe tumbled as the euro rose against the dollar.
Germany's DAX lost 3.2%, while France's CAC 40 lost 2.6% and the
Stoxx Europe 600 index shed 2.2%. The euro gained 1.8% to
$1.1164.
In the U.S., biotechnology stocks swung between gains and losses
following three straight sessions of declines. The Nasdaq
Biotechnology Index recently gained 0.2%.
Health-care stocks were lower. Humana Inc. shares dropped 7.9%
after the company reported earnings that fell below analysts'
expectations on an operating basis. Anthem Inc. posted
first-quarter revenue that was lower than analyst forecasts,
pushing shares down 2%.
U.S. stocks have advanced in recent weeks, though at an uneven
pace. A weak first-quarter earnings season, coupled with slowing
economic growth and uncertainty over the Fed's timeline for
interest-rate increases, have made for a rockier few months for
shares.
"The economic data needs to improve," said David Seaburg, head
of sales trading at Cowen and Co. in New York. "It's just not where
it needs to be ... it's scary."
Earnings reports were a mixed bag Wednesday. Analysts expect
first-quarter earnings among S&P 500 companies to decline 1.7%,
including the 277 companies that have so far reported results,
according to FactSet. That would mark the biggest decline in
earnings since the third quarter of 2009, though it's an
improvement from the expected earnings drop of 4.7% forecast in
late March.
U.S. economic data has been weak of late, contributing to weaker
quarterly results and a rockier stock market this year, said Kevin
Kelly, chief investment officer at Recon Capital Partners, which
manages about $200 million.
"The economic numbers certainly have been damaged, and that
story that we're doing so well is not as intact," Mr. Kelly said.
"You can see that in the market action this year, and you can see
that in the earnings."
Mr. Kelly said he remained invested in shares of large, dominant
technology companies. He said he boosted his stake in Google Inc.
earlier this year.
Shares of Wynn Resorts Ltd. fell 16% after the casino operator
said late Tuesday that it swung to a quarterly loss.
Shares of Akamai Technologies Inc. fell 1.5% after the
cloud-computing service firm reported first-quarter results that
fell short of its own forecast.
Northrop Grumman Corp. shares slipped 0.5%. The defense
contractor said first-quarter profit fell 19% but results topped
expectations.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide shares gained 8% after
the company announced it hired investment bank Lazard to explore
strategic alternatives, a move that could put the company up for
sale. The hotel operator also reported lower first-quarter
earnings.
Shares of Twitter fell 8%, extending Tuesday's decline following
the early release of disappointing first-quarter results.
Write to Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com and Saumya
Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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