NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing sharply lower after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered no new insight into whether the central bank will act soon to prop up the economy.
Bernanke said the Fed will consider a range of steps at its two-day meeting that begins Sept. 20 but offered no specific plan. The Dow fell 100 points after Bernanke’s remarks began.
President Barack Obama will lay out his jobs plan before Congress tonight.
The Dow fell 119 points, or 1 percent, to close at 11,296. The S&P 500 lost 13, or 1.1 percent, to 1,186. The Nasdaq shed 20, or 0.8 percent, to 2,529.
Four stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was lower than average at 3.7 billion shares.
