Stocks Ends Lower, Dell’s Profit Slides 79%

Stocks ended lower on Thursday, after a Federal Reserve official said the central bank could begin easing up on its monetary  stimulus this summer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.27 points, or 0.28%, to 15,233.22. The S&P 500 index shed 8.31 points, or 0.50%, to 1,650.47. The Nasdaq Composite declined 6.37 points, or 0.18%, to 3,465.24.

Dell Inc reported a 79 percent slide in profit as personal computer sales continue to shrink. Revenue in its fiscal first quarter ended May 3 fell to $14.1 billion, while net income fell to $130 million, Dell said on Thursday.

Aluminum smelter and parts-maker Alcoa said on Thursday that it will close down two production lines at a plant in Canada and cut about 500 jobs there because of lower aluminum prices.

Farmland values in the U.S. Midwest jumped 15 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier as demand for acres increased amid rising rental rates, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said.