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Roundup: U.S. stocks drift lower after volatile trading

Xinhua, March 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks inched down after wavering between gains and losses in a tight range Wednesday, as investors followed closely hints of the timing of a rate hike.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27.55 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,635.39. The S&P 500 lost 3.92 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,040.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.85 points, or 0.20 percent, to 4,849.94.

With no major news coming in on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve' s two-day meeting next week claimed market attention. It is reported that the central bank is strongly considering dropping the language of "patient" in its approach toward rates hike before acting, which would pave the way for a discussion about rate increases at its June meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, investors were still assessing the impact of the surging U.S. dollar. The greenback on Wednesday climbed to a 12- year high against the euro as the European Central Bank added stimulus into the economy while the Federal Reserve was moving closer to an interest rate hike.

Overseas, European shares rebounded strongly on Wednesday boosted by the falling euro, with the French stock market benchmark index CAC 40 rising 2.37 percent.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 1.08 percent to end at 16.87 Wednesday.

In other markets, the dollar climbed to a 12-year high against the euro as the European Central Bank added stimulus into the economy while the Federal Reserve was moving closer to the interest rates hike.

In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.0535 dollars from 1.0699 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 121.51 Japanese yen, higher than 121.10 yen of the last session.

U.S. crude price stabilized following a sharp decline in the previous session. Light, sweet crude for April delivery lost 12 cents to settle at 48.17 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex).

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the Nymex fell as the dollar strengthened near its highest level in 11 years. The most active gold contract for April delivery dropped 9.5 dollars, or 0. 82 percent, to settle at 1,150.60 dollars per ounce. Endite