Stocks Finish in the Red
Stocks fell from multiyear highs as the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting offered no signals that monetary stimulus is on the way.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke a three-session streak of gains, declining 64.94 points, or 0.5%, to 13199.55, one day after notching its highest close in more than four years. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 5.66 points, or 0.4%, to 1413.38, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 6.13 points, or 0.2%, to 3113.57.</br></br>Stocks opened flat and drifted lower. After the Fed statement, the Dow dropped as much as 133 points, but later pared losses. The Fed minutes of its March 13 policy-setting committee meeting showed agreement that the U.S. economic recovery had strengthened moderately, but left investors to question the Fed's appetite for launching additional bond buying, or other programs, to shore up growth and whether the rally can continue without a prime driver.</br></br>"One of the things underpinning the rally has been Fed's easy-money policy, and this could be seen as the Fed moving to close off the liquidity spigot to some extent," said Etai Friedman, head of equity derivatives trading MKM Partners.</br></br>While Fed officials said they are prepared to buy or sell assets "as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery," the minutes didn't show widespread agreement for doing so anytime in the immediate future.