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Roundup: U.S. stocks decline on GDP report, Fed statement

Xinhua, April 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors were digesting a weaker-than-expected GDP data and the Federal Reserve policy statement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 74.61 points, or 0.41 percent, to 18,035.53. The S&P 500 was down 7.91 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,106.85. The Nasdaq dropped 31.28 points, or 0.63 percent, to 2,106.85.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in the first quarter this year, according to an advanced estimate released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The first quarter GDP showed a sharp slowdown from the fourth quarter's 2.2 percent pace and below expectations of 1 percent growth.

Investors were also eyeing on the newly-released Fed statement after its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. According to the statement, officials focused mainly on the country's economic weakness in recent months, saying U.S. economic growth has "slowed" since last Fed meeting in March, which lowered market expectations for an interest rate hike as soon as June.

On corporate news, Time Warner posted its first quarter revenue of 7.1 billion U.S. dollars, above forecasts, and quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 1.19 dollars, beating estimates as well.

Traders also focused on Twitter after its shares plunged 18.18 percent Tuesday following the release of its quarterly earnings report. The company's shares continued to decline 8.90 percent in late trading.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, edged up 7.90 percent to end at 13.39 Wednesday.

In other markets, oil prices jumped Wednesday as government data showed that inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the U.S. contract, dropped for the first time in month.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery moved up 1.52 U.S. dollars to settle at 58.58 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. dollar decreased against most major currencies on Wednesday amid weaker-than-expected GDP report from the country and the closely-watched Federal Reserve policy statement.

In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 1.1114 dollars from 1.0979 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 119.01 Japanese yen, higher than 118.87 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange pulled back from three-week highs on Wednesday as profit taking put more pressure on the precious metal, offsetting the support from downbeat U.S. economic growth in the first quarter.

The most active gold contract for June delivery lost 3.9 dollars, or 0.32 percent, to settle at 1,210 dollars per ounce. Endite