US markets end lower as investors weigh Fed's policy path

07 Apr 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday, extending the significant downward move seen in the previous session, after the Federal Reserve gave more guidance on how fast it will tighten monetary policy to fight inflation, raising concerns it may slow the economy. The Fed’s release of its meeting minutes indicated that officials generally agreed it should shrink its balance sheet by $95 billion per month. The minutes also showed central bank officials were considering larger rate hikes than the usual 25-basis-point, or quarter-point, increments. The minutes stated many participants noted that - with inflation well above the Committee’s objective, inflationary risks to the upside, and the federal funds rate well below participants’ estimates of its longer-run level - they would have preferred a 50 basis point increase in the target range for the federal funds rate at this meeting.

The weakness on markets also comes amid concerns about the impact of additional sanctions against Russia. Citing Russian atrocities in Ukraine, the White House announced a ban on new investment in Russia, severe financial sanctions on Russia's largest bank and sanctions on Russian elites and their family members, including President Vladimir Putin's adult children. On the sectoral front, Airline stocks turned some of the market's worst performances on the day, resulting in a 3.5 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. Considerable weakness was also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. Semiconductor, housing and computer hardware stocks also saw notable weakness.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 144.67 points or 0.42 percent to 34,496.51, Nasdaq dropped 315.35 points or 2.22 percent to 13,888.82 and S&P 500 was down by 43.97 points or 0.97 percent to 4,481.15.

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