Fretting Over Fed Slams Stocks

"The FOMC's rewording is dollar positive as it suggests that the U.S. dollar yield disadvantage relative to higher yielding currencies could begin to erode earlier than what the previous statements suggested," said Ashraf Laidi, chief currency analyst at M.G. Financial.

Overseas markets finished mixed. Germany's Xetra DAX gained 0.4% at 4150, and London's FTSE 100 improved 0.5% at 4468. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.4% to 13,432, and Japan's Nikkei lost 0.7% to 10,852.

In other economic news, durable goods orders were unchanged in December. Although this report was an improvement from November's revised drop of 2.3%, it was far lower than the consensus estimate of a 2% rise.

New-home sales fell to an annualized 1.06 million units in December, less than what economists had expected and in contrast to a surge in existing-home sales during the month.

Movers

Procter & Gamble's(PG Quote) earnings contributed to this morning's positive sentiment. The company had a profit of $1.30 a share in its second quarter on a 20% surge in revenue. Earnings were expected to be $1.28 a share, according to Thomson First Call. Looking to the third quarter, the company said the "current consensus estimate is at the top end of net earnings-per-share expectations." The Wall Street consensus is $1.06 a share. The company's stock fell 56 cents, or 0.6%, to $98.62.