US markets end mostly in red on Wednesday

17 Feb 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January monetary policy meeting reiterated the view that it would soon be appropriate to begin raising interest rate but were not as hawkish as some had feared. The minutes showed most participants agreed it would be appropriate to remove policy accommodation at a faster pace than currently anticipated if inflation does not move down as expected. On the economic data front, a report from the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in US retail sales in the month of January. The Commerce Department said retail sales soared by 3.8 percent in January after plunging by a revised 2.5 percent in December. Street had expected retail sales to jump by 2.0 percent compared to the 1.9 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a sharp increase in motor vehicle and parts sales, retail sales still spiked by 3.3 percent in January following a 2.8 percent nosedive in December. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.8 percent. The Labor Department also released a separate report showing US import prices increased by much more than expected in the month of January. The report said import prices surged up by 2.0 percent in January after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in December. The spike in import prices reflected the biggest monthly increase since April of 2011. Street had expected import prices to jump by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month. On the sectoral front, Gold stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.3 percent to its best closing level in three months. The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for April delivery climbing $15.30 to $1,871.50 an ounce.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.57 points or 0.16 percent to 34,934.27 and Nasdaq lost 15.66 points or 0.11 to 14,124.09, while S&P 500 was up by 3.94 points or 0.09 percent to 4,475.01.

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