Stocks give up gains after Fed, euro tumbles
US stocks relinquished their gains as the Federal Reserve left monetary policy on hold and warned that recent market turbulence posed risks to the US economy. Those worries added to persistent concerns about Europe's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 66.45 points, or 0.55 percent, at 11,954.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 10.74 points, or 0.87 percent, at 1,225.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 32.99 points, or 1.26 percent, at 2,579.27..
European stocks and the euro eked out modest rises as warnings by credit rating agencies about the region's outlook kept gains in check.The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.6 percent higher at 972.84 points after rising to a high of 978.94 earlier in the session. Volumes were low, at around three quarters of the 90-day daily average.
Traders said there was a clear bias to sell the single currency on any bounce after the threat of further imminent sovereign downgrades because EU leaders had failed to come up with decisive steps to tackle the region's debt crisis.
Japan's Nikkei average fell today on the prospect of mass downgrades of European sovereign ratings after measures by leaders to fight the region's debt crisis failed to satisfy markets and rating firms.
The Nikkei fell 1.2% to 8,552.81, still managing to stay above its 25-day average near 8,508. The broader Topix index lost 0.8% to 740.71.
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