Stocks End Lower ahead of Fed Decision

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, before the Federal Reserve decides whether to taper
its bond-buying program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 9.31 points, or 0.06%, to
15,875.26. The S&P 500 fell 5.54 points, or 0.31%, to 1,781.00. The Nasdaq Composite lost 5.84
points, or 0.14%, to 4,023.68.

A bipartisan budget deal cleared a key hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday, and advanced toward final
passage. A procedural motion on the two-year agreement drew 67 yes votes and 33 no votes. The bill
sets spending levels for the current and next fiscal years at just over $1 trillion and is
estimated to cut the deficit by $85 billion over 10 years.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday named former Microsoft Corp.
MSFT +0.19% executive Kurt DelBene as the new head of the HealthCare.gov site.