Wall Street swings to a mixed finish as the Fed hints at rate hikes coming

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Eric Lynch, general manager of Scharf Investments, joined Cheddar News to discuss market trends and what lies ahead if the Federal Reserve pauses rate hikes.


NEW YORK Wall Street ended on a mixed note after the Federal Reserve hinted it could raise rates two more times this year, even as it held interest rates steady on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.1% after a pinball game between gains and losses following the Fed’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 232 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

The Fed concluded its latest policy meeting by saying it would keep rates where they are to give more time to see how the hikes over the past 15 months affect the economy. It tries to slow the economy just enough to stamp out high inflation, but not so much as to trigger a recession.

It was the first time in more than a year that the Fed did not raise rates at a meeting. Still, Fed policymakers indicated on Wednesday that they expect key interest rates to rise by at least 0.50 percentage point by the end of the year. The federal funds rate is already at its highest level since 2007, between 5% and 5.25%.

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Many traders on Wall Street took to the stock market on Wednesday to brace for another possible hike this year. The threat of a more aggressive than expected Fed initially caused prices for all kinds of investments to plummet.

In the bond market, the 10-year yield rose to 3.83%, from 3.77% just before the Fed’s announcement. It later fell back to 3.79%, compared to 3.82% late Tuesday. That yield helps determine rates for mortgages and other major loans.

The yield on two-year government bonds, which depends more on the expectations of the Fed, climbed from 4.67% at the end of Tuesday to 4.68% and even reached 4.78%.

Equity indices initially fell on concerns about higher interest rates, but they reversed their losses, and bond yields returned gains as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at a press conference and said no decisions have yet been made on upcoming rate hikes.

Some of the sharpest stock market declines came from several health insurers after UnitedHealth Group reported how many customers were undergoing knee procedures and other outpatient services. That could increase costs for insurers, and UnitedHealth fell 6.4%. Humana was down 11.2%.

Stocks of companies that make products used in hip replacements and other health procedures led the market. Stryker rose 4.2% and Boston Scientific gained 4.2%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 3.58 points to 4,372.59. The Dow Jones fell 232.70 to 33,979.33 and the Nasdaq gained 53.16 to 13,626.48.

Indices rose slightly in Europe and finished mixed across Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5%, continuing a strong run where it has already risen more than 28% this year.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://lacrossetribune.com/business/markets-and-stocks/stock-market-today-wall-street-swings-to-mixed-close-as-fed-hints-of-rate-hikes/article_5e317414-aad3-513d-a467-ca749be82f73.html

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