US stocks on Wednesday survived another session with high volatility and could not determine the direction of changes to its completion, reported Bloomberg.
Dow Jones Industrial Average index, on the session from February 10, fell 99.64 p. (0.08%) to 16014.38 points.
Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.35 points (0.02%) to 1851.86 points.
Nasdaq Composite rose 14.83 points (0.35%) to 4283.59 points.
Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 are falling for four sessions in a row, which is the longest period of falling from August and November, respectively. Only two of the 10 S&P 500 sector indices ended the day in higher: health care and pharmaceuticals (+ 0.9%) and high technology (+ 0.4%).
Investors assessed the report of the head of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, in the US Congress and the reporting of companies. By the end of the session, sentiment deteriorated due to the drop in oil prices of WTI, falling below $ 28 a barrel for the first time in three weeks.
The Chairman of the US Central Bank signals the weakening of growth in the economy. At the same time out of it followed that the Fed is not ready to give up raising rates, which, as stated earlier, will be slow and gradual.
"The state of the US economy justifies only a gradual increase in interest rates", - said Yellen.
Thus, the Fed left the possibility of a rate hike in 2016, including at the upcoming (March) meeting, though market participants recently questioned the feasibility of such a step.
The market value of Walt Disney Co (N: DIS) decreased by 3.8% due to investors concerns about the state of the cable sports channel ESPN. However, Walt Disney received a record profit in the 4th quarter due to the success of the new episode of "Star Wars."
At the same time the price of Time Warner shares fell 5%. The media conglomerate increased its profit in the fourth quarter more than expected and raised its dividends, but revenue fell and was worse than the consensus forecast.
According to analysts, the profit of companies whose shares are included in the calculation of Standard & Poor's 500 fell 4.5% in the fourth quarter.