US: Stocks edge lower as oil prices fall

WALL Street stocks finished with modest losses Wednesday (Jun 22) as oil prices retreated and Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell acknowledged interest rate hikes could lead to a recession.

Stocks began lower but pushed into positive territory for a time after Powell reiterated the need to counter inflation, but added that a recession was "certainly a possibility" amid the ongoing interest rate hikes.

Fears of a downturn were a driver of the oil market, which fell sharply, a move that has helped petrol prices retreat a bit in recent days from record highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 per cent to end at 30,483.13.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to close at 3,759.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 per cent to 11,053.10.

Although stocks ended lower, Art Hogan, strategist at National Securities, said the session should be seen as "more of a victory" in that equities were able to retain most of Tuesday's gains.

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Among individual companies, Kohl's fell 8.8 per cent after a report on CNBC that Franchise Group is considering a lower bid for the retailer as it weighs a takeover offer.

Netflix jumped 4.7 per cent following a report in the Wall Street Journal that the company was considering a venture with either Comcast's NBC Universal or Google-parent Alphabet on a lower-priced streaming service with ads.

Comcast rose 1.1 per cent and Alphabet was flat. AFP