Wall St indexes end down after Powell erodes hopes for December rate cut
Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell dampened investor hopes for another interest rate cut this year by saying the U.S. central bank need not rush to ease monetary policy.
Powell said at a Dallas Fed event that with the economy still growing, the job market solid and inflation still above the 2% target, the Fed can deliberate carefully on rate cuts.
While traders were still betting on a 25-basis point reduction at the Fed's December meeting, the probability sank to 55.5% from 76% earlier in the afternoon and from 82.5% on Wednesday, the CME FedWatch tool showed.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 36.23 points, or 0.61%, to end at 5,949.15 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 123.07 points, or 0.64%, to 19,107.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 206.14 points, or 0.47%, to 43,752.05.
Source: Reuters
