NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors digested Federal Reserve's latest decision on U.S. monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.93 points, or 0.40 percent, to 26,385.28. The S&P 500 decreased 9.59 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,905.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 17.10 points, or 0.21 percent, to 7,990.37.

The Fed on Wednesday raised short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, its third rate hike this year and the eighth such move since late 2015.

"In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the (Federal Open Market) Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 2 to 2-1/4 percent," the central bank said in a statement after concluding a two-day meeting.

The Fed said the U.S. labor market has "continued to strengthen" and economic activity has been "rising at a strong rate", with household spending and business fixed investment growing "strongly".

The Fed also said both overall inflation and so-called core inflation for items other than food and energy "remain near" the central bank's target of 2 percent.

Meanwhile, investors continued to digest major economic data.

Home prices rose 6 percent annually in July, slower than that of June, according to the S&P Case-Shiller national index on Tuesday.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased to 138.4 in September, up from 134.7 in August.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. Enditem