Midnight Trader | May 01, 2013 03:55PM ET
U.S. stocks finished lower, Wednesday, sliding after a brief rebound in the wake of the Fed's statement that it would maintain its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases.
First-Time Language
The statement followed a two-day open market committee meeting. The Fed also mentioned that it was flexible and is prepared to adjust the amount of purchases in the future, depending on the health of America's economy. While Bernanke has previously mentioned that the program was flexible, this was the first time that it was included in the statement. The Fed also announced that it will leave its benchmark-interest-rate target at zero to 0.25%.
The Fed also maintained its view that the economy is expanding at a "moderate pace." After a few weeks of sluggish data, there was some concerns that the Fed would downgrade its view of the economy.
Weak Data
Prior to the open, stock futures initially turned flat after the release of data showing that private-sector employment growth slowed down in April. According to ADP, the U.S. economy added 119,000 private-sector jobs, while economists expected the addition of at least 155,000 private-payroll jobs in April.
After the opening bell, equities immediately came under modest selling pressure as domestic economic data points -- including private-sector job growth, construction spending and the March ISM index all missed their mark.
Both March construction spending and the ISM index weighed in lower than analyst expectations. Construction spending was down 1.7% for the month, after analysts had predicted an 0.6% gain. The ISM index came in at 50.7% in March vs. expectations of 51%.
Commodities ended mostly lower. Gold futures shed 1.76% of their value to close at $1,454.80 per ounce, a one week low. Oil futures declined 3.1% to finish at $90.60 a barrel.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End
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