US: Stocks continue decline on rate cut pause prospects
US STOCKS finished lower on Friday, as traders contemplated a slower path of rate cuts in the wake of comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Powell said on Thursday that the Fed was in no hurry to cut rates, raising traders’ concerns that there may not be a rate cut next month.
“Certainly Powell’s speech has triggered some skepticism about the path of rates, with potentially December being a skip instead of another cut,” Edward Jones senior investment strategist Angelo Kourkafas told AFP.
“But we do have another inflation and jobs report before that, so there is still a good sense we might see another rate cut in December,” he added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the trading day down 0.7 per cent to 43,444.99.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index fell 1.3 per cent to 5,870.62, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index was the day’s biggest lose, dropping 2.2 per cent to 18,680.12.
Pharmaceutical stocks were also partially responsible for the slump, with major firms falling after President-elect Donald Trump nominated vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the US Health Secretary.
Biotech company Amgen dropped 4.2 per cent, while vaccine maker Moderna plunged 7.3 per cent. AFP
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