Stocks End Volatile Session Lower As Fed Leaves Door Open For Rate Hike

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday's volatile session lower after the Federal Reserve in a statement following its two-day policy meeting left open the chance of an interest-rate hike as early as June. However, market expectations remained for a rate hike later in the year following poor economic indicators over the past several months. The central bank said it expects the U.S. economy to rebound and attributed a slowdown in the first quarter to transitory factors. The S&P 500 closed 7.91 points, or 0.4%, lower at 2,106.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 74.61 points, or 0.4%, to 18,035.53. The Nasdaq Composite ended the session down 31.78 points, or 0.6%, at 5,023.64.