Stocks Slip

Brands traded slightly lower on Wednesday. Cisco, 3M, DuPont, and Exxon Mobil led the Dow’s descent. Meanwhile, comments from the latest FOMC meeting failed to impress. The Federal Reserve said it plans to keep interest rates low and continue its bond-buying programs until the unemployment rate improves substantially. On another note, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a dip in GDP growth. The advanced estimate on U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product showed that the economy contracted by 0.1%, compared with third-quarter expansion of 3.1%. Economists had anticipated growth of 1.1%. Elsewhere, the ADP report on private sector employment showed an addition of 192,000 jobs in January. Up from a downwardly revised 185,000 additions in December, economists had expected a lesser increase of 165,000 in January. Looking ahead, the Labor Department will release official January employment data on Friday.

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