U.S. stocks fall amid Fed minutes, economic data
Oct 13, 2022
New York [US], October 13:U.S. stocks declined on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes and the latest economic data fueled worries about further policy tightening.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 28.34 points, or 0.10 percent, to 29,210.85. The S&P 500 decreased 11.81 points, or 0.33 percent, to 3,577.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 9.09 points, or 0.09 percent, to 10,417.10.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities and real estate down 3.42 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Energy rose 0.75 percent, the best-performing group.
"Inflation, and therefore interest rates and what that means for the economy, remains the number one issue for the market," Kevin Matras, executive vice president at Zacks Investment Research, said in a note.
The Fed's September meeting minutes released Wednesday showed that policymakers expressed concerns over the persistence of high inflation, and many were more worried about doing too little to control inflation than too much.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Wednesday that the country's producer price index, a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, grew 0.4 percent in September, higher than the market estimate of a 0.2-percent gain.
The September U.S. consumer price index, which measures the change in the price of goods and services from the perspective of the consumer, is due on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua
