Join our community of traders FOR FREE!

  • Learn
  • Improve yourself
  • Get Rewards
Learn More

U.S. stocks declined, giving the Dow Jones Industrial Average its longest retreat in 13 months, as minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed officials support stimulus cuts to be made later this year if the economy improves.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.6% to 1,642.80 at 4 p.m. in New York, the lowest since July 8. The Dow dropped 105.44 points, or 0.7%, to 14,897.55. The measure retreated for a sixth day, the longest losing streak since July 2012. About 5.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges today, 11% below the three-month average.

“The Fed minutes continue to show this clear uncertainty as to when the monetary tightening will begin,” Erik Davidson, deputy chief investment officer for Wells Fargo Private Bank in San Francisco, said in a phone interview for Bloomberg. His firm oversees $170 billion. “It will be a seminal moment when they move from the easing theyve been in for years toward some incremental tightening steps. The minutes are quite clear in the sense that the Fed doesnt know that we are there yet where the process can begin.”

The S&P 500 fluctuated after the Fed released its minutes at 2 p.m. in Washington yesterday. The benchmark index at one point erased losses of as much as 0.8%. Growing concern that the Fed would reduce stimulus this year contributed to the index’s 3.4% drop from a record close on Aug. 2 through yesterday. Fed monetary support helped propel the benchmark gauge up more than 150% from its bear-market low in 2009.

In corporate news, earnings didnt match expectations as Target declined 3.6% to $65.50, the lowest since March 1. The second-largest U.S. discount retailer joins Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Macy’s Inc. in reporting results that showed the bumpy economy and increased Social Security taxes are making consumers reluctant to spend beyond necessities.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell 1.5% to $157.11. A programming error caused the firm to send unintentional stock options orders in the first minutes of trading, pushing prices on dozens of contracts to a dollar each, according to a person briefed on the matter yesterday.

Lowe’s (LOW) added 4.3% to $45.97. The second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and raised its forecast for the year as the housing recovery fuels spending on remodeling.

All 10 S&P 500 main industries fell today. Utility and phone stocks dropped the most, sliding 1.2%.

TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover Forex, Price Action and Social Trading.

Related News

  • Singapore’s manufacturing production growth tops estimatesSingapore’s manufacturing production growth tops estimates Singapore’s manufacturing output has increased at an annualized rate of 2.9% in May, while rebounding from a 1.2% drop in April.The latest data exceeded market consensus of a 2% growth.In May, production rebounded for electronics […]
  • Symantec Corp share price up, fires CEO Bennett amid declining sales and revenueSymantec Corp share price up, fires CEO Bennett amid declining sales and revenue Symantec Corp., which is the largest manufacturer of personal computer security and anti-virus software in the world, decided to fire Steve Bennett, who has been occupying the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the company […]
  • Commodity Market: Pivot Levels for Monday (May 8th 2017)Commodity Market: Pivot Levels for Monday (May 8th 2017) Silver (SI) for July delivery (1 Troy Ounce)R1 – $16.302 R2 – $16.329 R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $16.357 R4 (Long Breakout) – $16.439 R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $16.535 R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $16.575S1 – $16.247 S2 – […]
  • Tesla share price up,  to cut jobs in China amid falling salesTesla share price up, to cut jobs in China amid falling sales Tesla Motors Inc confirmed on Monday it will reduce its workforce in China as the electric carmaker continues with its restructuring efforts to combat sluggish sales.Gary Tao, a spokesman for the Palo Alto, California-based company said […]
  • GBP/USD trades higher after upbeat UK GDPGBP/USD trades higher after upbeat UK GDP British pound was trading higher against the US dollar on Friday, following a report, which revealed UK economy expanded at the fastest pace in three years during the third quarter of 2013.GBP/USD climbed to a session high at 1.6246 at […]
  • Apple tests cheaper and bigger screen models of iPhoneApple tests cheaper and bigger screen models of iPhone It seems that Apple has learned its lesson from Samsungs increasing progress on the smartphone market. The tech giant is expected to launch a bigger screen model of its top seller phone, but also a budget version of apple smartphone which is […]