U.S. stocks close lower amid data, geopolitical concerns

NEW YORK, April 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors digested latest economic data and renewed geopolitical concerns.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 218.55 points, or 0.90 percent, to 24,189.45. The S&P 500 erased 14.68 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,642.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 25.27 points, or 0.36 percent, to 7,069.03.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that U.S. missiles "will be coming" in response to Syria's suspected chemical attack, prompting fresh concerns over geopolitical competition between Moscow and Washington over Syria.

In corporate news, social media and technology stocks are in the limelight as Facebook's data scandal continues to unfold.

The company's chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg entered the second day of testimony before Congress on Wednesday.

Russian groups were alleged to have taken advantage of the social media platform to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Facebook was "too slow to spot and respond to Russian interference," Zuckerberg said. "It's clear now that we didn't do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm."

The company is working with special counsel Robert Mueller in the sweeping Russia investigation, said Zuckerberg.

On the economic front, U.S. consumer prices fell for the first time in 10 months in March.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers decreased 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.2 percent in February, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The index for all items less food and energy increased 0.2 percent in March, the same increase as in February.

Also, the U.S. central bank released the minutes from its March meeting. According to the minutes, the Fed officials saw an economy growing at a strong pace and inflation moving up as well, justifying continued interest rate increases. Enditem