Declines in commodity-sensitive stocks caused the markets to trade slightly lower on Monday. Energy brands led the way down ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day April meeting. Commerce Department figures showed new home sales dipped in March, falling 1.5% to a rate of 511,000. February sales were upwardly revised to 519,000. Tuesday’s trading session ended mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index adding gains while the NASDAQ closed in the red. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news, including a tick up in durable goods orders for March, and a fall in The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index. The mixed results continued Wednesday following comments from the April Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Policy makers left interest rates unchanged and left an increase in June unconfirmed. Thursday’s results were down across the board after the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at 0.5% in the first quarter, which was below analysts’ expectations. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to settle at $45.92 a barrel. On another note, Commerce Department data showed consumer spending ticked up just slightly in March, increasing a mere 0.1%, half the amount anticipated. Personal income rose by 0.4% last month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 89 from 91, slightly below expectations of 90.
