NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are sliding as concerns grow over whether the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy Treasury bonds might be smaller than anticipated.
A second straight day of mixed earnings and economic reports is also dragging down stocks Wednesday.
Many traders had been predicting the Fed would buy between $500 billion and $1 trillion in Treasurys to drive interest rates lower and boost lending and spending. But new reports says the central bank might announce a smaller plan after its meeting next week.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 68, or 0.6 percent, at 11,101. The S&P 500 is down 7, or 0.6 percent, at 1,179, while the Nasdaq composite is down 15, or 0.6 percent, at 2,482.
