Stocks ended mixed Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) left interest rates unchanged, as expected, and said market conditions were helping the economic recovery but weakness will persist. Stocks opened the session higher, but declined most of the session, falling more sharply after the mid-afternoon Fed announcement. The U.S. central bank said it would keep a key interest rate unchanged at historic lows near zero percent, where it has stood for a year. The Fed said in its accompanying statement that weakness will remain but a combination of government action, stimulus, and market forces “will contribute to a strengthening of economic growth.” Stocks showed little reaction to U.S. economic reports issued in the morning. Consumer inflation rose 0.4 percent in November (mostly due to surging energy prices) after climbing 0.2 percent the previous month. But “core” prices, which exclude volatile energy and food, were flat for the first time nearly a year. Meanwhile, U.S. housing starts rose in November, as expected, and building permits (a gauge of future activity) rose more than expected, the government said in a second report. The U.S. dollar was mixed, falling versus the euro and rising versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for January delivery rose $1.97 to $72.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for February delivery rose $13.20 to $1,136.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 10.88, or 0.1 percent, to 10,441.12. The European Union decided to drop antitrust charges against software giant Microsoft after it agreed to allow computer makers to install competing software; Microsoft shares rose slightly. But U.S. regulators said they are suing Intel for anticompetitive practices against its rival chipmakers, and Intel shares fell 2.4 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.25, or 0.1 percent, to 1,109.18. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 5.86, or 0.3 percent, to 2,206.91. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 39.32 to 7,180.76. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 10.40 to 1,787.19. And the Russell 2000 index rose 4.90 to 611.21. --SPA
