The Associated Press

U.S. stocks closing slightly lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it was shutting down a bond-buying program because the economy no longer needs as much help.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 31.44 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,974.31.

The S&P 500 fell 2.75 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,982.30

The Nasdaq composite fell 15.07 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,549.23.

For the week:

The Dow is up 168.90 points, or 1 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 17.72 points, or 0.9 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 65.51 points, or 1.5 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 397.65 points, or 2.4 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 133.94 points, or 7.3 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 372.64 points, or 8.9 percent.

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