US stocks dropped all early gains and ended lower for the second straight day on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve offered no immediate measures to boost the economy, Xinhua reported.
The
Dow Jones industrial average dropped 66.45 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 11,954.94.
The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 10.74 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 1,225.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 32.99 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 2,579.27.
In a statement after the last rate-setting meeting this year, the Fed left its interest rates on hold and gave no hint on any quantitative easing plan for the time being.
IN DEPTH COVERAGE: Global Economic Crisis Meanwhile, the Fed acknowledged "some improvement in overall labour market conditions" but the tone of the statement was relatively downbeat given better-than-expected recent data.
The market struggled to stay positive in most time of the session but investors found little reason to buy in after rating agencies warned to downgrade all EU nations as the latest EU summit failed to ease the pressure on the eurozone sovereign debt.
Fitch Ratings warned on Monday that the summit did not offer a "comprehensive solution" to the current crisis, which means the crisis will continue at varying levels of intensity throughout 2012 and probably beyond.
At the same time, Moody's Investors Service also said the summit "offers few new measures" and did not change its view that the risks to the cohesion of the euro area continue to rise.
Tuesday's retail data was also mildly disappointing. According to the Commerce Department, US retail sales rose 0.2 per cent after a 0.6-per cent gain in October, weaker than market expectation.
Special 
