US stocks close lower after Fed statement

US stock indices fell on Wednesday, as Wall Street came under pressure following the Federal Reserve's statement.

The US Federal Reserve kept the interest rate unchanged near zero and decided to keep the $120 billion per month asset purchasing program.

The Fed stated that progress is being made in distributing the Covid-19 vaccines and in financial and monetary policies, which was reflected on economic indicators, especially employment that has been rising during the past 6 weeks.

The central bank noted improvement in the most impacted sectors by the pandemic, but added that the ongoing health crisis continues to weigh on the economy.

The Fed Governor Jerome Powell stated during a press conference that he rules out starting to reduce the $120 billion asset purchasing program, as he sees that the labor market and the inflation rate will not deviate from the Fed's target.

The US Goods Trade Balance index showed a deficit of $90.58 billion last month, which is the highest monthly level ever.

To the oil market, WTI crude June futures rose 1.5% or 92 cents, and closed at $63.86 a barrel, after hitting a day high of $64.5 and a low of $62.5.

Brent June futures rose 1.3% or 85 cents, and closed at $67.27 a barrel, after hitting a high of $67.8 and a low of $66.1.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.5% or 164 points, and closed at 33,820, with a day high of 33,946, and a low of 33,805.

Nasdaq fell 0.3% or 39 points to 14,051, with a high of 14,133 and a low of 14,034 points.

S&P 500 fell 0.1% or 3 points to 4,183, after hitting a high of 4,201 and a low of 4,181.