US: Stocks fall for third straight day
WALL Street stocks fell for a third straight session on Wednesday (Jun 21) as markets digest gains from earlier in 2023 and take in hawkish Federal Reserve commentary.
US Fed chair Jerome Powell told a congressional panel that he expects additional interest rate hikes this year, noting that inflation still remains too high.
“We see potential vulnerability in the form of near-term profit taking, triggered by still-hawkish Fed speak,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall.
He added that “weakness may continue into July” as the Fed hikes rates one last time before pausing until a first cut in the first quarter of 2024.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3 per cent to 33,951.52.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.5 per cent to 4,365.69, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.2 per cent to 13,502.20.
Among individual companies, shares of FedEx slid 2.5 per cent as it reported a 10 per cent drop in revenues in the latest quarter. The results were dented by “continued demand weakness and cost inflation”, the transportation company said.
Dollar Tree shares jumped 4.6 per cent as it forecast earnings per share of US$10 or more in fiscal 2026 and confirmed its outlook for the second quarter and this fiscal year.
Chip companies traded lower, with Intel sinking 6.0 per cent, Nvidia down 1.7 per cent and Advanced Micro Devices losing 5.7 per cent. AFP
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