Materials Down After Fed Statement -- Materials Roundup

Shares of commodities producers declined amid mixed signals from the Federal Reserve. The Fed left interest rates unchanged and gave itself wiggle room for the next policy move. But Chairwoman Janet Yellen signaled the central bank could launch its plan to slowly shrink its large bond portfolio after officials' next meeting in September. Officials offered little indication that several weak inflation readings had altered plans to raise interest rates once more this year. Still, rate-sensitive gold futures, which were weaker ahead of the statement, ticked up in electronic trade.

Shares of U.S. Steel rallied after the steelmaker posted quarterly earnings ahead of Wall Street targets. U.S. Steel, which also named a new chief financial officer, said it wasn't concerned about delays in U.S. reviews of tariff policies.

Low crop prices in Latin America weighed on seed giant Syngenta's quarterly earnings in its first report since selling itself to China National Chemical.

(-By Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2017 16:37 ET (20:37 GMT)