Stocks Closed Sharply Lower after Fed Statement

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee reiterated it plans to remain patient and watch the data as it decides when to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 195.84 points, or 1.13%, to 17,191.37. The S&P 500 was down 27.39 points, or 1.35%, to 2,002.16. The Nasdaq Composite fell 43.50 points, or 0.93%, to 4,637.99.

The Federal Reserve boosted its assessment of the economy and downplayed low inflation readings while repeating a pledge to remain “patient” on raising interest rates. The Federal Open Market Committee described the expansion as “solid,” an improvement over the “moderate” performance it saw in December.

Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) revenue grew 49 percent in the fourth quarter, as strength in mobile advertising helped the world’s largest Internet social network beat Wall Street’s target. The company said on Wednesday it ended 2014 with 1.39 billion monthly users, with 86 percent of them accessing its service on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Oil slumped on Wednesday, with U.S. crude prices at near six-year lows, after the government reported record-high inventories in the United States that raised anxieties about the global oil glut that had pressured the market since last summer.U.S. crude’s front-month contract (CLc1) settled down $1.78, or almost 4 percent, at $44.45 a barrel.