US close: Stocks drop after Fed rate decisions, Apple and Boeing weigh

US stocks finished the session comfortably lower, with traders piling on the pressure following a non-committal policy statement from the US Federal Reserve as losses in shares of Apple weighed on all three of the main US market gauges.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.38% or 223 points to 15,944, alongside declines of 1.08% and 2.18% for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, respectively.

While the Federal Open Market Committee kept the range for the Fed funds rate unchanged at between 0.25% and 0.50%, investors appeared to react poorly to the prospect that short-term interest rates might still be headed higher when the Fed next met in March.

Since the last policy decision on 15 December, oil prices had taken another tumble and the IMF had downgraded global growth forecasts while concerns about the knock-on effect of the slowdown in emerging economies escalated.

"The Committee is closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labor market and inflation, and for the balance of risks to the outlook," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement.

Meanwhile, oil prices moved higher amid contradictory reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia might have held contacts that could lead to cuts in oil output by the world´s largest producers.

Front month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures advanced 2.21% to $32.16 per barrel and those for Brent crude by another 3.46% to $32.94 per barrel.

Saudi Arabia approached the Russian Federation about possible oil output cuts within the framework of the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries, Transneft chief Nikolai Tokarev said on Wednesday, according to a report from TASS.

Elsewhere, China once again dominated the day in Asia, with its main index closing down slightly after having recovered from some serious losses early in the session. Wednesday was the second day of losses for Shanghai, which lost a sizeable 6.4% on Tuesday as investors were worried that capital outflows from the mainland were increasing during the country's slowdown.

In company news, Apple shares slumped after the technology giant said late on Tuesday that iPhone sales grew at the slowest pace since its first model and that revenue will fall at its steepest rate in 15 years.

Boeing also plunged after the aircraft manufacturer issued a full-year guidance of $8.45 to $8.65 per share that was below expectations.

From a sector standpoint, the worst performance was seen in the following industrial groups: Computer hardware (-5.52%), Travel&tourism (-5.52%) and Aerospace (-4.01%).

The Chicago Board of Exchange´s volatility index - which many in the markets called Wall Street´s 'fear gauge' - ended the day up by just 2.71% to 23.11.

Yields on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes - typically considered to be most closely linked with long-term inflation expectations - edged higher by one basis point to 1.99%, while those on the more policy-sensitive two-year note slipped by one basis point to 0.83%.

S&P 500 - Risers
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $4.65 +10.71%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $6.72 +7.52%
Hess Corp. (HES) $36.85 +5.86%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $273.26 +5.15%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $19.44 +5.08%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $63.30 +4.84%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $84.52 +3.87%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $29.87 +3.86%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $8.75 +3.55%
CA Inc. (CA) $27.73 +3.28%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Total System Services Inc. (TSS) $39.22 -14.74%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $6.67 -14.16%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $32.69 -13.36%
Boeing Co. (BA) $116.58 -8.93%
State Street Corp. (STT) $51.91 -7.19%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $37.02 -6.89%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $91.15 -6.83%
Welltower Inc (HCN) $61.60 -6.67%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $93.42 -6.57%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $434.16 -6.34%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.03 +1.62%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.16 +0.97%
3M Co. (MMM) $145.55 +0.53%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $120.87 +0.37%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $85.81 +0.19%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $103.31 +0.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.09 +0.02%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $116.58 -8.93%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $93.42 -6.57%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $51.46 -3.74%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $59.58 -2.50%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $50.37 -2.10%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.32 -2.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $75.29 -1.84%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $51.22 -1.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $112.33 -1.43%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $58.32 -1.42%