Stocks ended a choppy trading session more towards the negative as tech shares declined and investor sentiment grew cold as traders digested the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision, as well as remarks from Chairman Jerome Powell.
Central bank policymakers decided to keep interest rates near zero through 2023, as officials look to boost the impacted economy. In the Fed's monetary policy statement, officials reaffirmed that the health of the economy is dependent on the extent of the coronavirus pandemic. "The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the central bank concluded in a statement.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders's September housing market index skyrocketed to a record high of 83, reflecting the ongoing growth of the housing market despite other parts of the U.S. economy collapsing under the pandemic's weight.
Here's how the market settled for the mid-week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Major Stock News, big tech continued to drive the broader market, but this time more towards negative territory as shares fell: Amazon
For Sector Performance, industries ended the overall choppy session mixed. Those who left with positive gains were Energy +4.05%, Financials +1.11%, Industrials +0.99%, Real Estate +0.54% and Materials +0.07%. The rest of the sectors settled with losses: Information Technology -1.56%, Communication Services -1.21%, Consumer Discretionary -1.02%, Consumer Staples -0.51%, Health Care -0.22% and Utilities -0.21%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Thursday, investors will turn their attention to new weekly jobless claims as well as fresh data on housing starts.