US markets settle lower on Tuesday

06 Apr 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard indicated the central bank could take a more aggressive approach to its tightening policy. Brainard described inflation as much too high and predicted the Fed would start reducing its balance sheet at a rapid pace as soon as the May meeting. She added the reduction in the balance sheet will contribute to monetary policy tightening over and above the expected increases in the policy rate reflected in market pricing and the Committee's Summary of Economic Projections. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks pulled back sharply after turning in a strong performance in the previous session, resulting in a 4.5 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

On the economic data front, after reporting a slowdown in the pace of growth in US service sector activity over the past few months, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report showing growth in the sector reaccelerated in the month of March. The ISM said its services PMI rose to 58.3 in March from 56.5 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Street had expected the index to rebound to 58.0. Meanwhile, a report released by the Commerce Department showed the US trade deficit was nearly unchanged in February, as imports and exports both increased. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit narrowed by less than $0.1 billion to $89.2 billion in February. Street had expected the deficit to narrow to $88.5 billion from the $89.7 billion originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280.7 points or 0.8 percent to 34,641.18, Nasdaq dropped 328.39 points or 2.26 percent to 14,204.17 and S&P 500 was down by 57.52 points or 1.26 percent to 4,525.12.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×