Stocks fell in the last 90 minutes of trade Wednesday, retreating from one-year highs, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady and keep its outlook on the economy relatively unchanged. Stocks initially rallied after the Fed announcement but failed to hold gains as investors used the latest rally as a reason to sell. As expected, the U.S. central bank kept a key interest rate steady near zero percent, a historic low. In a statement, Fed policymakers said “economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn. Conditions in financial markets have improved further, and activity in the housing sector has increased.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a congressional committee that economic growth appears to be accelerating, but that reforms must be enacted to repair a broken financial system. He was testifying on regulatory reform, specifically, the creation of an agency to protect financial consumers. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery fell $2.79 to $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping after a U.S. government report showed a surprising jump in weekly crude inventories. Gold for December delivery fell $1.10 to $1,014.40 an ounce. The U.S. dollar held gains versus the euro and the yen following the Fed announcement. The dollar had touched a new one-year low against a basket of currencies in the morning. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 81.32, or 0.8 percent, to 9,748.55. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.79, or 1 percent, to 1,060.87. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 14.88, or 0.7 percent, to 2,131.42. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 82.44 to 6,964.69. The American Stock Exchange composite index fell 4.19 to 1,799.35. And the Russell 2000 index fell 7.32 to 613.37.
