Stocks End Lower after Fed Sticks to Taper Plan

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve meeting minutes suggested the central bank was
looking for ways to exit or at least slow down its bond-buying program fairly soon. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average lost 66.21 points, or 0.41%, to close at 15,900.82. The S&P 500 fell 6.50
points, or 0.36%, to finish at 1,781.37. The Nasdaq Composite shed 10.28 points, or 0.26%, to end
at 3,921.27.

Minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting said thecentral bank could decide to scale back its
stimulus program atone of its next few meetings if economic growth improved enough. The minutes
confirmed the Fed is getting closer to reducingits current program, and that it could begin
scaling back itsstimulus in March, analysts said.

Sales of existing homes fell in October to the slowest pace in four months as rising mortgage
rates and prices cut affordability, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.
Existing-home sales fell 3.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million,
marking a second month of declines.

J.C. Penney (JCP) on Wednesday reported a third-quarter loss that widened to $489 million, or
$1.94 a share, from a year-earlier loss of $123 million, or 56 cents a share. Revenue declined
5.1% to $2.78 billion, with both revenue and profit missing expectations.

Yahoo (YHOO) said Tuesday it would boost its share buyback program by $5 billion. The Internet
company also plan to offer up to $1.15 billion in convertible senior notes.