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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks extend gains on Fed statement

Xinhua, July 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks continued to rise Wednesday as Wall Street assessed the Federal Reserve's statement released in the afternoon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 121.12 points, or 0.69 percent, to 17,751.39. The S&P 500 gained 15.32 points, or 0.73 percent, to 2,108.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 22.53 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,111.73.

According to the statement, information received since the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the policy-setting arm of the Fed, met in June indicates that economic activity has been expanding moderately in recent months.

To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the FOMC reaffirmed its view that the current 0 to 1/4 percent target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate.

In determining how long to maintain this target range, the FOMC will assess progress -- both realized and expected -- toward its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation.

"(The statement showed) that the past 6 weeks data pushed the FOMC a little closer to raising rates, but they are still waiting for more good news before they actually pull the trigger," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

On the economic front, after five consecutive months of increases, U.S. pending home sales slipped in June but remained near May's level, which was the highest in more than nine years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.8 percent to 110.3 in June but is still 8.2 percent above June 2014 reading.

In corporate news, shares of Twitter plunged 14.50 percent to 31.24 dollars apiece Wednesday following the release of its quarterly results, as tepid user growth and ongoing uncertainty about its leadership weighed on investor sentiment.

Twitter, Inc. reported revenue of 502 million U.S. dollars for the second quarter of 2015, up 61 percent year on year. The company had 316 million monthly active users in the second quarter on average, up less than 3 percent from the previous three months.

"Our Q2 results show good progress in monetization, but we are not satisfied with our growth in audience," said Jack Dorsey, interim CEO of Twitter, in a statement.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks rebounded strongly after falling for five consecutive sessions, with all three major indices increasing about 1 percent. Endite