U.S. stocks end mixed as investors assess Fed statement
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E-mail Xinhua, January 27, 2022
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as investors parsed the Federal Reserve's latest statement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129.64 points, or 0.38 percent, to 34,168.09. The S&P 500 was down 6.52 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,532.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.82 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,542.12.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with real estate and materials down 1.66 percent and 1.06 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Technology and financials rose 0.72 percent and 0.27 percent, respectively, the only two gaining groups.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded lower with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.
The above market moves came after the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said that it will soon be appropriate to raise its benchmark interest rate amid surging inflation.
The central bank has kept the federal funds rate unchanged at the record low level of near zero since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But many Fed officials have expressed in recent weeks that they would be comfortable with a rate increase at the central bank's next meeting in March due to elevated inflation pressures.
"While the drives of higher inflation have been predominantly located to the dislocations caused by the pandemic, price increases have now spread to a broader range of goods and services," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday afternoon at a virtual press conference, adding inflation risks are "still to the upside" in the views of most Fed officials.
"Communication was more nuanced today than at previous Fed meetings in the past few years, likely because the Fed is committed to keeping policy fully accommodative until the next meeting, meaning the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) could not initiate anything concrete today," Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a note.
"Nevertheless, Fed Chair Powell said more than a few things adding up to a more hawkish tone, which in turn is weighing on stocks," he added. Enditem
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