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U.S. stocks slide after Fed rate hike decision

Xinhua, December 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks reversed early gains to end lower Friday, as investors continued to digest the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 8.83 points, or 0.04 percent, to 19,843.41. The S&P 500 lost 3.96 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,258.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 19.69 points, or 0.36 percent, to 5,437.16.

In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the (Federal Open Market) Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent, said the Fed in a statement after concluding a two-day policy meeting.

The Fed also released its updated economic projections, which indicated that the central bank forecasts three rate hikes next year, while in its September projections, Fed officials expected only two rate hikes in 2017.

"Today is a 'quadruple witch' expiration Friday," said Stephen Guilfoyle, the president of Sarge986, Friday, "that may not mean all that much to the retail investor, but in the business, this means that trading volumes will increase dramatically around the bells."

On the economic front, U.S. privately-owned housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million units, 18.7 percent below the revised October estimate, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

Overseas, European equities rose broadly Friday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched up 0.33 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.18 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks also ended higher Friday as investors adjusted to higher U.S. interest rates. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.17 percent 3,122.98 points.

For the week, the Dow gained 0.4 percent, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent. Enditem