U.S. stocks ended flat Wednesday as the market digested Obama administration's housing relief plan and the Federal Reserve's forecasts.
President Barack Obama unveiled a 75-billion-U.S.-dollar mortgage relief plan on Wednesday, which would provide incentives to mortgage lenders to help borrowers reduce their payments. In a bid to help restore confidence, the U.S. Treasury Department will also double the size of current financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But some negative economic data weighed on the market. The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities fell 1.8 percent in January, worse than economists' expectations.
The Federal Reserve slashed its projections for the country's economic performance this year, predicting the economy will shrink this year.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped 16.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000 units. It was the slowest pace on records in about 50 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3.03, or 0.04 percent, to 7,555.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.75, or 0.10 percent, to 788.42, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.69, or 0.18 percent, to 1,467.97.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2009)
