4:10 pm : A weaker dollar helped put stocks in higher ground in the early going, but broader market support faded in the wake of the latest statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Early gains were broad based as the dollar dipped as much as 0.4% against a basket of foreign currencies in the early going. The Nasdaq was even able to log a fresh 52-week high.

However, support for stocks started to fade ahead of the latest FOMC directive and then buckled in the report's wake.

The FOMC stated that economic activity has continued to pick up and that deterioration in the labor market is abating. The FOMC also expressed that conditions in the financial markets are improving, so some of the Fed's special liquidity facilities will soon end as planned.

More notably, the FOMC indicated that the target range for the federal funds rate will remain at 0.00% to 0.25% and that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. The overall language in the statement is consistent with previous statements, so it helped calm concerns that the Fed may look to raise interest rates sooner than later.

Despite that, the greenback advanced against competing currencies and gave the Dollar Index a momentary gain. The Dollar Index settled with a fractional loss.

6:48PM Transcend announces pricing of public offering at $16.75 (TRCR) 17.22 -0.13 : Co announced announced that the public offering of 2,220,000 shares of its common stock has priced at $16.75 per share. The co is offering 1,500,000 shares of common stock and stockholders are offering the remaining 720,000 shares in the offering. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 333,000 shares from the Company and the selling stockholders. The co intends to use the net proceeds of the shares sold by it in the offering to repay the remaining $5.0 mln of its $7.0 mln term loan, fund new acquisitions and to fund working capital and other general corporate initiatives.

6:45PM Citi confirms it prices $17 bln common stock offering at $3.15 per share and prices $3.5 bln of tangible equity units at $100 each (C) 3.45 -0.11 : Co announced the pricing of 5.4 bln common shares and 35 million tangible equity units as part of its agreement with the U.S. government and its regulators to repay U.S. taxpayers for the $20 bln the government holds in TARP trust preferred securities and to terminate the loss-sharing agreement with the government. The common stock priced at $3.15 per share, generating net proceeds of ~$17 bln. The tangible equity units priced at $100 each, generating net proceeds of ~$3.5 bln (about $2.8 bln counted as equity.) The combined offering of common stock and tangible equity units is the largest public equity offering in U.S. capital markets history. Upon completion of the offerings and the repayment of the $20 bln of the TARP trust preferred securities and the termination of the loss-sharing agreement, Citi will no longer be deemed to be a recipient of "exceptional financial assistance" under TARP... After giving effect to the issuance of the $17 billion in common stock, $3.5 bln of tangible equity units and $1.7 billion of stock compensation previously announced by Citi, as well as the repayment of $20 billion of the TARP trust preferred securities and the termination of the loss-sharing agreement, Citi's pro forma Tier 1 capital ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2009 would have been 11.0%, compared with 12.8%. The company's pro forma Tier 1 common ratio at the end of the third quarter would have been 9.0%, compared with 9.1%.

6:19PM Flowserve signs joint venture with Valbart to manufacture valves for Oil and Gas Industry (FLS) 97.95 -0.71 :