The S&P 500 ended lower on Wednesday for a seventh straight session, its longest such streak in five years, as the Federal Reserve signaled it could hike interest rates in December and the uncertain U.S. election continued to cloud the market's outlook.
The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady, but said the economy had gained steam and job gains remained solid, expressing more optimism that inflation was moving toward its 2 percent target.
The decision was broadly in line with expectations of investors, who have been discounting a hike at this meeting but generally bracing for one in December.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 77.46 points, or 0.43 percent, to 17,959.64, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.78 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,097.94 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 48.01 points, or 0.93 percent, to 5,105.57.
Asia shares eased on Thursday while the U.S. dollar stayed on the defensive as a tightening U.S. presidential race saw the S&P 500 suffer its longest losing streak in five years as investors fled to safer harbors. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS eased 0.1 percent in early trade, while Australia's market lost 0.5 percent.
Reference: Reuters
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