Stocks Fall on Fed Outlook
Author: Jonathan Cheng</br></br>Stocks fell broadly after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called the U.S. economic outlook "unusually uncertain" but signaled the central bank wouldn't act in the near term to bolster the flagging recovery.</br></br>Left with a picture of a sluggish economy that policy makers are either unable or unwilling to boost, investors unloaded shares as Mr. Bernanke reaffirmed earlier promises to "take further policy actions as needed."</br></br>"This is what the Fed has been saying for a while now," said John Stoltzfus, senior market strategist with Ticonderoga Securities. "This is just replaying the tape."</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 164 points at one stage before closing down 109.43 points, or 1.1%, at 10120.53. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6%.