US stocks end lower as investors weigh Powell’s testimony

NEW YORK, June 21 (Xinhua) – US stocks widened losses on Wednesday as investors considered Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 102.35 points, or 0.30%, to $33,951.52. The S&P 500 fell 23.02 points, or 0.52%, to 4,365.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 165.10 points, or 1.21 percent, to 13,502.20.

Six of the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors finished green, with energy and utilities leading the gainers, up 0.92% and 0.84%, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and telecom services led the laggards, down 1.41% and 1.36%, respectively.

US stocks fell Wednesday as investors took a breather from last week’s rally that pushed the market to its highest level in more than a year and weighed down Powell’s latest comments on monetary policy.

Powell said in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday that while he kept rates unchanged at last week’s policy meeting, more rate hikes are likely as the Fed tries to contain slowing U.S. growth and price pressures. Said expensive.

Powell said it might make sense to continue raising rates at a more gradual pace through the end of the year, adding that the timing of further hikes would depend on data. The Fed chief is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Cities Committee on Thursday.

U.S. stocks plunged after Chairman Powell’s House testimony confirmed that the Fed threatened to raise interest rates to combat inflation. Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online multi-asset trading firm OANDA, said Wall Street wasn’t surprised by Fed Chair Powell’s efforts to curb inflation, but swap futures still have one more rate hike. He said that it was only incorporated.

“It is clear that the Fed is not near the end of its tightening cycle, and if other central banks appear poised to raise rates more than a few times, the Fed will remain aggressive in tightening. Powell said it will take a long time for inflation to come down,” Moya said.

Meanwhile, tech stocks pushed down the three major U.S. indexes on Wednesday. Nvidia stock, which has risen nearly 200% this year, is down 1.74%. Alphabet and Netflix stocks each fell more than 2%. Tesla stock fell 5.5% after the Wall Street downgrade, its biggest drop in two months.