Roundup: U.S. stocks decline amid mixed data, Beige Book

U.S. stocks continued to drop Wednesday, as Wall Street was digesting the Federal Reserve's Beige Book amid mixed economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 106.47 points, or 0.58 percent, to 18,096.90. The S&P 500 slid 9.25 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,098.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.76 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,967.14.

Investors were shifting the focus back to the progress of the U. S. economy and the implications for monetary policy, as earnings reporting season is drawing to a close.

According to the Fed's Beige book released Wednesday afternoon, U.S. economic activity continued to expand across most regions and sectors from early January through mid-February. Six Districts noted that the local economy expanded at a moderate pace since the prior reporting period.

The Automatic Data Processing private payrolls report, considered a pre-indicator of Friday's labor market report from the U.S. Labor Department, showed a gain of 212,000 jobs in February, which was below expectations and the slowest pace since August 2014.

The Non-Manufacturing Index registered 56.9 percent in February, 0.2 percentage point higher than the January reading, above market consensus of 56.5, representing continued growth in the non- manufacturing sector, said the Institute for Supply Management in its monthly survey.

Overseas, the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday cut the key policy rate by 25 basis points, triggering optimism of stimulating selling and buying of expensive commodities like cars and homes.

In corporate news, American Eagle Outfitters shares surged 7.69 percent to 15.96 dollars apiece after posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that S&P 500 companies' per-share earnings in the fourth quarter of 2014 are expected to grow 6.7 percent year on year, while revenue growth is forecast to increase 2.0 percent. A total of 490 companies in the S&P 500 have reported quarterly results to date.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 2.67 percent to end at 14.23 Wednesday.

In other markets, U.S. oil price increased Wednesday although government report showed crude stockpile of the country continued to increase last week.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery gained 1.01 dollars to settle at 51.53 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery moved down 47 cents to close at 60.55 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar went up against most major currencies on Wednesday. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1074 dollars from 1.1178 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 119.71 Japanese yen, higher than 119.69 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange decreased on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for April delivery dipped 3.5 dollars, or 0.29 percent, to settle at 1,200.90 dollars per ounce. Endite