Stocks Ended Lower after Fed’s Policy Decision

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s commentary. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 122.35 points, or 0.46%, to 26,307.79. The S&P 500 was down 6.21 points, or 0.21%, to 2,917.52. The Nasdaq Composite fell 12.87 points, or 0.16%, to 8,036.77.

Crude futures settled sharply lower Thursday, with energy markets awaiting the next moves from OPEC as U.S. waivers on Iran oil sanctions expire. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery lost $1.79, or 2.8%, to settle at $61.81 a barrel. July Brent crude fell $1.43, or 2%, to $70.75 a barrel.

Shake Shack (SHAK) posted stronger-than-expected sales on Thursday. Shake Shack reported adjusted earnings of 13 per share. Revenue was at $128.6 million. Same-store sales grew 3.6% during the quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations for 0.8% growth.

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) missed revenue expectations but posted smaller losses than Wall Street expected. The company reported first-quarter net losses of $103 million, or 69 cents a share, compared with $137 million, or 91 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $2.61 billion from $2.51 billion in the year-ago period.