US markets end lower amid uncertainty over next Fed chair

The US markets ended lower on Friday amid growing uncertainty over the next Fed chair. Markets traded choppy bouncing back and forth across the unchanged lines following comments from President Doanld Trump suggesting National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett may not be his choice to become the next Federal Reserve chair. Besides, traders kept close eye on developments in Venezuela, political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Meanwhile, investors overlooked the report released by the Federal Reserve (Fed) which stated that industrial production in the U.S. grew by much more than expected in the month of December. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.4 percent in December, matching an upwardly revised increase in November. Meanwhile, the street had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

On the sectoral front, steel stocks showed a notable move to the downside, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index falling by 1.2 percent after ending Thursday's trading at its best closing level in over seventeen years.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 83.11 points or 0.17 percent to 49,359.33, S&P 500 fell 4.46 points or 0.06 percent to 6,940.01 and Nasdaq decreased 14.634 points or 0.06 percent to 23,515.388.