The major U.S. equity indices are trading lower Wednesday as investors grow more conservative about the central bank's attempts to stimulate the economy. Durable goods orders rose 3.3% in September to a seasonally adjusted $199.16 billion, beating consensus estimates for a rise of 2.5%. New-home sales in September rose 6.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000, ahead of consensus estimates of 4.2%. In corporate news, Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) shares are trading 4.84% lower at $80.43 after the company reported that profit fell 9.2%, despite sales strength in Latin America and Asia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is trading 1.23% lower at 11,032.13, the S&P500 (INX) is trading 0.99% lower at 1,173.95 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is trading 0.57% lower at 2,483.17.
