Stocks slipped on Monday with Technology shares dragging down the stock indices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3%, falling back into negative territory for 2018. Facebook lost about $36.4 billion in market value on the discovery that a firm tied to Trump’s 2016 election campaign gathered data from millions of Facebook profiles without authorization. The market climbed on Tuesday despite Facebook’s continued decline. Midweek, the major indices closed fractionally in red territory as stocks traded lower in the wake of news from the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee agreed to boost the target range for the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5% — 1.75%, as anticipated. The Fed also revised its forecast for GDP growth this year from 2.5% to 2.7% and foresees expansion of 2.4% in 2019. Looking elsewhere, existing-home sales ticked up in February, as total sales increased 3% for the month and are up 1.1% from a year ago. Indices dipped down on Thursday after President Trump announced a trade action against China. On another note, the U.S. labor market continues to tighten as Department of Labor data showed the four-week moving average for initial jobless claims slid 750 from the previous week’s revised average to 221,500. Stocks dipped Friday as potential trade war concerns ramped up. Facebook also traded lower for a fifth straight session. On another note, durable goods orders jumped up in February. Orders for goods designed to last several years increased by 3.1% last month. The results exceeded estimates of a 1.7% gain.
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