Stocks were flat on Wednesday as investors feared the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates again in September in an effort to tame high inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 33 points. The S&P 500 rose 0.05%. The Nasdaq Composite Index is up 0.22%.
Stock futures fell into negative territory after a The Wall Street Journal article suggested That Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s commitment to lower inflation could mean the central bank raises interest rates by 0.75 percentage points in September, which would be the third consecutive increase of that size. Markets were hoping the Fed would start distributing smaller increases starting in September, but it’s happening Pricing is now at an 86% chance, up 0.75 percentage points.
Shares added to their three-week low on Tuesday. The Dow Jones fell about 173 points, or 0.5%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.7% to post its first seven-day losing streak since 2016.
The moves came amid a surge in bond yields that saw the 10-year US Treasury yield rise to its highest level since June. The price on 30-year Treasuries closed at the highest level since 2014. Bond yields move inversely with prices. Prices were slightly lower on Wednesday, with the 10-year traded at 3.321%. The 2-year and 30-year returns are trading at 3.47% and 3.472%, respectively.
Investors are divided over how to approach the market as the first week after Labor Day in September enters a tough month for stocks. All eyes are on the 3900 level on the S&P 500. Some see the index dropping to its lows, while others are bullish on a year-end rally.
Barclays’ Emmanuel Kao wrote in a note on Wednesday: “With stocks returning to their lowest levels in June and interest rates re-routing higher, further easing of inflation combined with decisive EU government intervention to address the energy crisis could lead to another downward pressure. “. “The big picture, we think stocks remain in a difficult position given the weak trade-offs for growth policy.”
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will present its summary of current economic conditions, also known as beige book. Elsewhere, Fed Chairs Loretta Meester of Cleveland and Tom Barkin of Richmond, as well as Fed Vice Chair Lyle Brainard are scheduled to speak at various events.
“Twitteraholic. Total bacon fan. Explorer. Typical social media practitioner. Beer maven. Web aficionado.”