Trading information is shown on an electronic screen at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, the United States, July 31, 2019. U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday. The Dow decreased 1.23 percent to 26,864.27, the S&P 500 fell 1.09 percent to 2,980.38, and the Nasdaq was down 1.19 percent to 8,175.42. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
NEW YORK, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates for the first time since more than a decade ago.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 333.75 points, or 1.23 percent, to 26,864.27. The S&P 500 fell 32.80 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,980.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 98.19 points, or 1.19 percent, to 8,175.42.
All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded lower around market close, with the consumer staples sector down nearly 2 percent, leading the losers.
Shares of Spotify declined nearly 0.2 percent, after the music streaming service reported a sharp loss in second-quarter profit, despite its better-than-expected quarterly revenue.
However, shares of Apple rose over 2 percent, after the U.S. tech giant reported second-quarter earnings that beat market expectations. Its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter also came above analysts' estimates.
The Fed decided to cut interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008.
The decision came due to "implications of global developments for the economic outlook and muted inflation pressures," according to the Fed.
The move was in line with broad expectations as traders had priced in an almost certain quarter-point rate cut ahead of the meeting.
However, the market was shocked following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks that rate cut was a "mid-cycle adjustment to policy," wiping out the three indexes' gains of the day.
On the economic front, U.S. private-sector employment increased by 156,000 in July from the previous month, according to the ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday, which topped market estimates of 150,000.
The services sector and goods producers contributed the most to July's growth, which came higher than June's revised increase of 112,000.
The monthly report was co-conducted by the ADP Research Institute and Moody's Analytics, offering an overview of U.S. nonfarm private sector.
