Dow slips, but S&P, Nasdaq up after Fed, Oracle

By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow fell for the fourth day and other indexes ended well off the day's highs on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reiterated concerns about the economic outlook at the end of its policy meeting.
Technology shares sustained some strength, bolstered by stronger-than-expected quarterly results from software maker Oracle Corp (ORCL.O).
The Fed, as expected, left the benchmark fed funds rate at almost zero. The bond market sold off on disappointment that the Fed did not announce an acceleration or increase of its purchases of Treasury and mortgage-related debt.
Stocks also pulled back, as the Fed did not suggest in its statement that it sees any notable recovery any time soon.
"The Fed is a little more downbeat than the market has been ... that they're emphasizing the weakness is a touch disappointing to me and to the markets," said Jim Awad, managing director at Zephyr Management in New York.
Before the release of the Fed's statement, all three major stock indexes were solidly higher, with the Nasdaq up more than 2 percent. Investors were encouraged by a stronger-than-expected report on monthly durable goods orders, which pointed to increased economic demand.
The Fed's words on the economic outlook were mixed. The central bank said the economy was likely to remain weak for a time, but the contraction's pace was slowing.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 23.05 points, or 0.28 percent, at 8,299.86. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 5.84 points, or 0.65 percent, at 900.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 27.42 points, or 1.55 percent, at 1,792.34.
In the U.S. Treasury bond market, the price of the benchmark 10-year note dropped 18/32 lower while its yield jumped to 3.70 percent from 3.63 percent late on Tuesday.
"I think people were kind of hoping this bond purchase program would change," said Stephen Massocca, managing director of Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
NIKE SINKS LATE
After the closing bell, the stock of Nike Inc (NKE.N) slid 6.2 percent to $49.74 following the company's fourth-quarter results. Nike's earnings, excluding charges, beat expectations, but its forward orders dropped 12 percent. In regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange and ahead of the earnings, Nike fell 1 percent to close at $53.02.
During the regular session, Oracle's results boosted other technology shares and helped drive the PHLX semiconductor index .SOXX up 1.7 percent. Oracle shot up 7 percent to $21.26 and ranked among the Nasdaq's top advancers.
Data before the opening bell showed new orders for durable goods, which are long-lasting U.S. manufactured products such as refrigerators and washing machines, increased by a much stronger-than-expected 1.8 percent in May, and the median price of new homes hit its highest level since December, even though sales slipped, economic data showed.
"You had the good durable number, the good Oracle number that kind of got things going," Massocca said. Continued...
Source: Reuters