US stocks have closed lower, unable to hold on to earlier gains amid weak corporate earnings and after the Federal Reserve left policies on hold as expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.19 points (0.19 per cent), closing at 13,077.34.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 4.36 (0.31 per cent) at 1,408.75, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 8.76 (0.29 per cent) at 2,981.70.
The indices had opened higher, lifted by optimistic forecasts by Boeing and Facebook and stronger than expected manufacturing data in China.
Markets reacted little to the Fed’s decision to keep ultra-low interest rates and its QE3 stimulus plan announced just six weeks ago unchanged.
“Lacking a big motivator, markets just slid into negative territory about an hour before closing,” said Paul Ausic at 24/7WallSt.com.
Cisco Systems was the steepest decliner on the Dow, down 3.4 per cent, followed by Hewlett-Packard (-1.5 per cent).
Bank of America shed 0.5 per cent after the Justice Department sued it for at least $US1 billion ($A973.19 million) for allegedly dumping dodgy mortgages on state-controlled mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
United Technologies led blue-chip gainers, up 1.1 per cent, while Boeing slipped 0.2 per cent after reporting a fall in net earnings for the third quarter, but earnings per share, at $US1.35, that came in well above analyst expectations of $US1.13.
Industrial leader Dow Chemical jumped 4.7 per cent. Dow announced a 39 per cent fall in quarterly profits but said it would slash 2,400 jobs, five per cent of its global workforce, and cut back capital spending to generate $US1 billion ($A973.19 million) in savings by the end of 2014.
Facebook charged 19.1 per cent higher after spelling out to analysts late Tuesday that it was indeed bringing in money from users on mobile phones, with 14 per cent of its advertising income coming from that area.
“I want to dispel this myth that Facebook can’t make money on mobile,” chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said.
“We’re just getting started.”
Apple gained 0.6 per cent after revealing its new iPad Mini and other products Tuesday; Microsoft was down 0.5 per cent ahead of the release of its Windows 8 operating system.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was unchanged from late Tuesday at 1.76 per cent, while the 30-year edged up to 2.93 per cent from 2.92 per cent.
Bond prices move inversely to yields.
