Stocks Opened Flat ahead of Fed Statement

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Wednesday ahead of a statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve as it winded down its stimulus program. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately added 38.46 points, or 0.23%, to 17,044.21. The S&P 500 was up 3.44 points, or 0.17%, to 1,988.49. The Nasdaq Composite was down 5.60 points, or 0.12%, to 4,558.69.

The Fed is widely expected to announce it will end its two-year-old stimulus programme known as QE3 for the third trance of quantitative. The Fed started buying bonds as far back as late 2008.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the homeownership rate, which shows the share of occupied homes in which owners live, fell to 64.4% in the third quarter — the leanest result since 1994 — down almost a full percentage point from a year earlier.

Facebook Inc (FB) warned on Tuesday of a dramatic increase in spending in 2015 and projected a slowdown in revenue growth this quarter, slicing a tenth off its market value.

Hershey Co. (HSY) reported third-quarter profit that missed expectations, cut its full-year earnings outlook and provided a downbeat outlook for 2015. Net earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 28 slipped to $223.7 million, or $1 a share, from $233 million, or $1.03 a share, in the year-earlier period.

About the Author

has written 15907 stories on this site.

Write a Comment

Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Copyright © 2012 Nine Stocks