U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday after the World Bank lowered its outlook for global growth. In U.S. economic news, House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (Republican from Virginia) surprising loss to a tea party activist late Tuesday in a Virginia primary rattled investors, with some wondering if it heralded the return of gridlock on Capitol Hill. In international economic news, the World Bank projected the global economy would expand 2.8 percent in 2014, down from a 3.2 percent forecast delivered in January. Its estimate for world growth in 2015 held at 3.4 percent. The dollar edged lower against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery added 5 cents to finish at $104.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $1.10 to $1,261.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 102.04, or 0.6 percent, to 16,843.88. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 6.9, or 0.4 percent, to 1,943.89. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 6.07, or 0.1 percent, to 4,331.93.
