Jabar Ekspres – Stocks on Wall Street were lower in late trading Friday (Saturday morning WIB), as investors weighed the path of monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve amid hawkish comments by officials and the continuation of the recent bull market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 108.94 points, or 0.32 percent, to settle at 34,299.12 points. The S&P 500 Index shed 16.25 points, or 0.37 percent, to end at 4,409.59 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 93.25 points, or 0.68 percent, to close at 13,689.57 points.
Eight of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the red, with communication services and technology leading the declines, losing 1.0 percent and 0.83 percent, respectively. The utilities and materials sectors led the gainers, rising 0.53 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively.
READ MORE: Chinese Stocks Opened Higher Today!
US stocks slipped on Friday (16/6/2023) but remained on track for weekly gains after the Fed’s hawkish pause on Wednesday (14/6/2023). Wall Street appeared to welcome signs that the Fed’s tightening cycle had helped ease price pressures, while two Fed officials warned that the central bank may have to raise interest rates further to tame inflation.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that “core inflation is not moving, and it’s probably going to take more tightening to try to bring it down.” Meanwhile, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that inflation remains “too high” and “If the data coming in doesn’t support that story (inflation easing), I’m comfortable doing more.”
“US stocks were poised for a long weekend as traders exhausted from a week full of high impact events though did not derail momentum in equities. The Fed’s hawkish stance was followed by further hawkish reminders by Barkin and Waller,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of multi-asset online trading services.
Traders decided to take some profits off the table after a strong rally, noted Vladimir Zernov, analyst at market information supplier FX Empire.
