U.S. stocks close lower amid Fed decision, data

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-10 05:57:04|Editor: huaxia
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NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve decision and major economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 201.92 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,989.30. The S&P 500 was down 25.82 points, or 0.92 percent, to 2,781.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 123.98 points, or 1.65 percent, to 7,406.90.

The Fed left the key interest rates unchanged, in line with market expectations, keeping the central bank on track with one more rate hike in December.

It said in a statement that the U.S. labor market has continued to strengthen and the economic activity "has been rising at a strong rate" since its last policy meeting in September, when it raised rates for the third time in the year.

On the economic front, the producer price index jumped 0.6 percent in October, driven by more expensive gas, food, and chemicals, according to statistics released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for November hit 98.3, slightly higher than the average forecast of economists.

On the earnings front, Walt Disney reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations on Thursday. The company registered earnings per share of 1.48 U.S. dollars and revenue of 14.31 billion dollars. Enditem

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