Stocks drop as earnings disappoint; Fed upcoming
Source: AP-EXCITE
By STEVE ROTHWELL
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks were lower in early trading Wednesday as investors assessed the latest company earnings reports and awaited news from the Federal Reserve, which wraps up its two-day policy meeting later in the day.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 111 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,817 in the first half-hour of trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 11 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,781. The Nasdaq composite fell 26 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,070.
FED DAY: The Federal Reserve wraps up a two-day policy meeting and is expected to announce that it will continue to reduce, or "taper," its bond purchases to $65 billion a month from $75 billion a month. The policy is intended to hold down long-term interest rates and stimulate the economy by encouraging borrowing and hiring.
"The common thought is that the Fed is to continue its tapering at $10 billion," said Joe Bell, a senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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In this Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, file photo, traders work in their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets rose Wednesday Jan. 29, 2014 as jitters about emerging economies were soothed by the Turkish central bank's aggressive interest rate hike to stabilize its currency and China's infusion of funds into its banking system. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)