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U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday for the third straight session after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his Congressional testimony said that policymakers plan to go for more interest rate hikes this year as the fight to bring down sky-high inflation continues. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3% or 102.35 points to finish at 33,951.52 points.
The S&P 500 declined 0.5% or 23.02 points to close at 4,365.69 points. Tech and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest losers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) lost 1.5%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) declined 1.2%. Five of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 1.2% or 165.09 points to finish at 13,502.20 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.90% to 13.22. Declined outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.04-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.42-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 10.62 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.41 billion.
Powell Hints at More Interest Rate Hikes
Stocks ended lower on Wednesday in a volatile trading session for the third consecutive day as they retreated from recent highs not seen in more than a year. Wednesday’s decline came as investors digested fresh comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell, who testified before Congress on Wednesday, once again said that he and the other central bank policymakers expect more interest rate hikes this year as they believe that inflation despite showing signs of easing is still elevated.
However, he didn’t give any specific time for the next interest rate hike or when it can be expected. He also stressed that the forecast of two more rounds of interest rate hikes of 25 basis points each this year is a “pretty good guess” as he and his colleagues are in strong support of that.
Powell’s comments come just a week after the Fed decided to keep interest rates unaltered after 10 straight hikes over the past year. This came as fresh economic data showed that inflation eased in May. However, market participants believe that the Fed will still go for at least one interest rate hike which could be as early as in its July FOMC meeting.
Powell’s comments once again raised concerns among investors as stocks took a pause from the exuberance of last week’s rally. Tech stocks, which went on a rally last week following the enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, took a beating on Wednesday. Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. ((META - Free Report) ) declined 1%, while Netflix, Inc. ((NFLX - Free Report) ) lost 2.4%.
Image: Bigstock
Stock Market News for Jun 22, 2023
U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday for the third straight session after Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his Congressional testimony said that policymakers plan to go for more interest rate hikes this year as the fight to bring down sky-high inflation continues. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3% or 102.35 points to finish at 33,951.52 points.
The S&P 500 declined 0.5% or 23.02 points to close at 4,365.69 points. Tech and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest losers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) lost 1.5%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) declined 1.2%. Five of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 1.2% or 165.09 points to finish at 13,502.20 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.90% to 13.22. Declined outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.04-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.42-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 10.62 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.41 billion.
Powell Hints at More Interest Rate Hikes
Stocks ended lower on Wednesday in a volatile trading session for the third consecutive day as they retreated from recent highs not seen in more than a year. Wednesday’s decline came as investors digested fresh comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell, who testified before Congress on Wednesday, once again said that he and the other central bank policymakers expect more interest rate hikes this year as they believe that inflation despite showing signs of easing is still elevated.
However, he didn’t give any specific time for the next interest rate hike or when it can be expected. He also stressed that the forecast of two more rounds of interest rate hikes of 25 basis points each this year is a “pretty good guess” as he and his colleagues are in strong support of that.
Powell’s comments come just a week after the Fed decided to keep interest rates unaltered after 10 straight hikes over the past year. This came as fresh economic data showed that inflation eased in May. However, market participants believe that the Fed will still go for at least one interest rate hike which could be as early as in its July FOMC meeting.
Powell’s comments once again raised concerns among investors as stocks took a pause from the exuberance of last week’s rally. Tech stocks, which went on a rally last week following the enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, took a beating on Wednesday. Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. ((META - Free Report) ) declined 1%, while Netflix, Inc. ((NFLX - Free Report) ) lost 2.4%.
Shares of Salesforce, Inc. ((CRM - Free Report) ) declined 3.4%. Salesforce has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
No economic data was released on Wednesday.