Jabar Ekspres – Wall Street closed mixed in late trading Thursday (Friday morning WIB), as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony that the central bank has not reached the end of its tightening cycle and the latest developments from global central banks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 4.81 points, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 33,946.71 points. The S&P 500 Index added 16.20 points, or 0.37 percent, to end at 4,381.89 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 128.41 points, or 0.95 percent, to close at 13,630.61 points.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with real estate and energy leading the declines, trimming 1.44 percent and 1.30 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the consumer non-primary and communication services sectors led the gainers with a lift of 1.53 percent and 1.15 percent, respectively.
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The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended a three-day losing streak on Thursday (06/22/2023), as investors picked up some of the tech-related stocks that were dragged down this week, helping some major tech stocks remain in the green.
Investors are closely watching Powell’s testimony before Congress this week. Powell said returning inflation to the 2.0 percent target is critical to supporting the long-term health of the U.S. economy, adding that more rate hikes may be needed this year.
Many Fed officials expect that “it will be appropriate to raise rates again this year, and perhaps twice,” though the timing of the hikes will be data-dependent, Powell told the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday (June 22, 2020), a day after his testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee.
Hawkish and dovish enter the battlefield at the Fed’s June meeting, debating the extent to which further rate hikes may be needed and how strongly to deliver them, said Ellen Zentner, chief US economist at Morgan Stanley.
