Stocks Ended Mixed as Fed Kept Rates Unchanged

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged in an unanimous decision and signaled that it would continue to tighten monetary policy at a gradual pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.92 points, or 0.04%, to 26,191.22. The S&P 500 was down 7.06 points, or 0.25%, to 2,806.83. The Nasdaq Composite fell 39.87 points, or 0.53%, to 7,530.88.

Oil futures settled lower Thursday, with the U.S. benchmark down for a ninth session in a row, as sizable increases in crude output from major producers fed concerns of an oversupply in the market. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell $1, or 1.6%, to settle at $60.67 a barrel. January Brent crude dropped $1.42, or 2%, to finish at $70.65 a barrel.

Disney (DIS) posted quarterly results that beat on both the top and bottom lines. Earnings per share came in at $1.48 on an adjusted basis on revenue of $14.31 billion, soaring past estimates of earnings of $1.34 per share on revenue of $13.74 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Adjusted EPS beat the highest analyst estimates of $1.45.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI) reported Q3 financial results and lowered guidance. The video game giant earned 52 cents per share, which was better than expected analysts’ expectations of 49 cents per share. Revenue was in line with expectations at $1.66 billion, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg. Activision expects earnings of 43 cents per share on $2.2 billion in revenue for Q4.

Dropbox Inc topped Wall Street targets for quarterly revenue. Dropbox reported average revenue per user of $118.6, beating estimates of $116.97. Total revenue rose 26 percent to $360.3 million, above estimates of $352.7 million. It had 12.3 million paying subscribers by the end of the third quarter, up 18 percent from a year earlier.