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NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks reversed early gains to trade lower around midday Thursday, as investors continued to assess the impacts of the Federal Reserve's rate hike decision.
By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.18 points, or 0.15 percent, to 20,917.92. The S&P 500 lost 4.63 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,380.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 3.69 points, or 0.06 percent, to 5,896.36.
The U.S. central bank on Wednesday raised interest rates for the third time since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the job market strengthening and inflation rising toward its target.
"In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation," the Fed decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.75-1.0 percent, the Fed's policy-making committee said in a statement released after its two-day meeting.
"Our decision to make another gradual reduction in the amount of policy accommodation reflects the economy's continued progress," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said of the rate hike on Wednesday at a press conference. "The simple message is the economy is doing well."
On the economic front, U.S. privately-owned housing starts in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,288,000, beating market consensus, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
This is 3.0 percent above the revised January estimate of 1,251,000 and is 6.2 percent above the February 2016 rate of 1,213,000.
Meanwhile, in the week ending March 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 241,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 243,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.
The 4-week moving average was 237,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 236,500.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rebounded as Wall Street digested the Fed's decision to raise interest rates. Enditem
