US stocks fell on Wednesday, led by a sharp decline in technology stocks.
Major indexes fell throughout the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 1%.
Investors are grappling with the prospect of higher interest rates for longer after Powell’s comments on Wednesday.
US stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending with its fourth straight loss as technology stocks led the market lower and investors adjusted their rate expectations following this week’s hawkish comments from Jerome Powell .
Nvidia led losses in the technology sector throughout the session, with shares of the chipmaker down nearly 4%. Tech titans like Netflix, Meta, Apple and Microsoft all fell, and the Nasdaq lost more than 1% on Wednesday.
Investors accept the prospect of higher interest rates for longer, thanks to strong inflation figures for March and Powell’s recent rate cut forecasts in 2024. The Fed chairman warned that central bankers needed more confidence that inflation would return to its 2% target, implying that rates would remain higher than investors expect. were waiting.
The Fed also deployed its April Beige Book Wednesday, which revealed that some central bankers fear a resurgence of inflation.
“Overall, contacts expected inflation to stabilize at a slow pace. At the same time, contacts in a few districts – mainly manufacturers – perceived upward risks to inflation in the short term, both in input prices and in output prices,” the report said. » said Beige Book.
Markets now view a June Fed rate cut as unlikely, pricing in just a 16% chance the Fed will do so at the June FOMC meeting, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Most investors expect only one to two rate cuts by the end of the year, based on December interest rate projections, compared to six rate cuts anticipated in January.
Investors are awaiting comments from Fed officials after the closing bell and throughout the day Thursday, which could provide further guidance on the Fed’s policy trajectory for the remainder of the year.
Here is where the US indices stood at the 4 p.m. close on Wednesday:
Here’s what else is happening today:
In commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil fell 3.05% to $82.76 a barrel. Brent crudethe international benchmark, fell 2.9% to 87.41 dollars per barrel.
Gold slipped 0.55% to $2,369 an ounce.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell seven basis points to 4.583%.
Bitcoin fell 3.06% to $61,063.
Read the original article on Business Insider
