STOCKS FALL AFTER THE FED: Here's What You Need To Know

The Fed spoke today and markets got spooked.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 15,626.3, -53.9, -0.3%
• S&P 500: 1,763.9, -8.0, -0.4%
• NASDAQ: 3,931.9, -20.4, -0.5%

And now the top stories:

• Most economists expected today's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement to be a non-event. So, one could argue the bar was set low for any type of surprise. As expected, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged near-zero and it announced no tapering of its stimulative quantitative easing program.
• The Fed said that it saw improvement in the economy despite the fiscal retrenchment. It also excluded previous statement about tightening financial conditions putting a strain on the economy. Overall, the message appears to be positive on the economy, which in turn may be seen as hawkish on monetary policy.
• "The October FOMC statement was just a bit more hawkish than expected," said Goldman Sachs' Jan Hatzius. "While financial conditions have certainly eased, we expected the Fed to err on the side of dovishness and retain some version of this language."
• Facebook and Starbucks announce earnings after the closing bell. Follow the releases live at BusinessInsider.com.
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