The US markets ended in red on Wednesday on lingering concerns about higher interest rates following some hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said she expects the Fed to raise interest rates above 4 percent by early next year. Mester also said she does not anticipate the Fed cutting interest rates in 2023, with the central bank likely to keep rates at an elevated level in an effort to combat inflation. On the economic data front, Payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of August. ADP said private sector employment rose by 132,000 jobs in August after jumping by 268,000 jobs in July. Street had expected employment to surge by 288,000 jobs. ADP suspended its jobs report for June and July as the firm revamped its methodology and entered into a partnership with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab.
A report released by MNI Indicators showed its reading on Chicago-area business activity was little changed in the month of August. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer inched up to 52.2 in August from 52.1 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Street had expected the business barometer to edge down to 52.0. The slight uptick came after the Chicago business barometer dropped to its lowest level since August 2020 in the previous month. The modest increase by the headline index came as the production index jumped to 54.9 in August from 48.2 in July, while the new orders index climbed to 48.9 from 44.5. on the sectoral front, Airline stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.3 percent to its lowest closing level in a month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 280.44 points or 0.88 percent to 31,510.43, Nasdaq fell 66.93 points or 0.56 percent to 11,816.2 and S&P 500 was down by 31.16 points or 0.78 percent to 3,955.
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