US close: Stocks slide after Fed's statement and disappointing GDP

US stocks slid on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left open the chance of an interest-rate hike as early as June following its two-day policy meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 74.61 points to 18,035.53, while the S&P and the Nasdaq lost eight and 27 points respectively.

The Fed said it anticipates a rebound in the US economy after the sluggish winter months. However, the latest statement following Wednesday's meeting could indicate that the central back may want to delay the move, possibly until September, analysts said.

Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, maintained a positive outlook.

"We still think the Fed will start to raise rates in the second half of this year and, as wage growth and price inflation rebound, we anticipate that rates will rise much more rapidly next year than either the markets or the Fed currently expect," he said.

Analysts at Barclays claimed Wednesday's statement was in line with expectations and that an first rate hike in September remained the more plausible option.

"Our view remains that September is a more likely time for the first rate hike, but we expect several on the committee to argue for a rate hike in June, including Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, who is a voting member in 2015," they said in a note.

US gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by far less than expected over the first three months of the year, although some activity gauges had been hinting at just such an outcome.

GDP expanded at a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter annualised pace in the first three months of the year, well below the 1% expected by analysts and the 2.2% growth seen in the fourth quarter.

"The slowdown looks temporary, as a rebound from the first-quarter weakness is already being signalled by forward-looking survey data, but the sustainability of any upturn is by no means convincing yet," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

“Policymakers will probably want to see how the economy performs in the second quarter before passing judgement on whether the time is right to start the process of normalising policy.

"That leaves September as the first realistic possibility of rates being hiked, providing of course that the economy bounces back in coming months."

US pending home sales rose for the third consecutive month in March, reaching the highest level since June 2013.

Figures released by the National Association of Realtors, showed the index rose 1.1% month-on-in March to a seasonally adjusted 108.6, in line with consensus expectations.

In corporate news, Twitter fell 8.94% after the group reported a wider-than-expected loss and sales missed estimates late on Tuesday.

The social media giant saw its target price cut from $50 to $40 by analysts at Wedbush, while analysts at JP Morgan slashed their target from $67 and $55.

Time Warner rose 0.55% after its first-quarter profit and sales beat expectations, while wearable video cameras-maker GoPro soared 12.65% after it reported late on Tuesday that its first-quarter profit had jumped 52%.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings climbed 1.09% after reporting a 25% increase in first-quarter earnings, while sector peer Wynn Resorts plunged 16.49% after revealing on Tuesday it had swung to a loss.

Yelp plunged 13.8% in after-hour market after the group posted a $1.3m loss in the first quarter, even though revenue rose 55% year-on-year.

The dollar fell 0.64% and 1.3% against the pound and euro respectively and gained 0.18% against the yen, while gold futures slid 0.86% to $1,203.40.

Oil prices rebounded, with West Texas Intermediate jumping 2.4% to $58.48 a barrel, while Brent gained 1.4% to $65.58 a barrel.

S&P 500 - Risers
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $8.92 +11.64%
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $87.53 +8.33%
Denbury Resources Inc. (DNR) $8.81 +7.97%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $30.87 +6.78%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $17.55 +6.43%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $31.60 +5.37%
Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY) $54.61 +5.34%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $38.70 +5.16%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $70.28 +5.07%
Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) $16.47 +4.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $108.77 -16.64%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $23.67 -11.61%
Windstream Holdings Inc (WIN) $10.99 -7.69%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $168.05 -7.21%
Adt Corp (ADT) $37.93 -5.01%
Waste Management Inc. (WM) $49.88 -4.94%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $45.54 -4.11%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $126.68 -3.82%
Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $24.19 -3.78%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $113.61 -3.38%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $87.50 +1.51%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $63.60 +1.34%
Visa Inc. (V) $67.34 +0.85%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $111.73 +0.55%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $198.56 +0.54%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $100.17 +0.31%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $174.40 +0.28%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $97.02 +0.20%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $87.87 +0.08%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $113.61 -3.38%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $108.71 -1.69%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $77.88 -1.54%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $128.64 -1.47%
Boeing Co. (BA) $146.15 -0.92%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.05 -0.92%
3M Co. (MMM) $156.97 -0.86%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $74.18 -0.86%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $102.85 -0.80%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $79.85 -0.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $76.85 +5.80%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $38.70 +5.16%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $188.30 +3.29%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $74.50 +2.46%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $383.78 +2.43%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $32.19 +1.55%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $68.52 +1.50%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $173.61 +1.48%
Altera Corp. (ALTR) $40.72 +1.42%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $72.27 +1.35%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $108.77 -16.64%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $45.54 -4.11%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $77.47 -3.13%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $84.79 -3.10%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $43.28 -2.39%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $220.96 -2.34%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $95.83 -2.11%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $99.76 -2.03%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $59.54 -1.85%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $85.71 -1.84%