Stocks traded flat Wednesday, attempting to recover from Tuesday’s broad-based selloff, spurred by comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that suggested that interest rates may need to go higher for longer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 30 points higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.15% and 0.25%, respectively.
A stronger-than-expected February private payrolls report suggested that the economy is standing strong despite the Fed’s hiking campaign, adding to investor concern that a bigger rate increase may be ahead.
The Dow closed nearly 575 points lower on Tuesday. The S&P 500 slid 1.53% to close below the key 4,000 thresholds, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.25%. The sharp decline for stocks was accompanied by a spike in bond yields, with the rate on the 2-year Treasury surpassing 5% and touching the highest level since 2007.
The shakeup in markets came after Fed Chair Powell spoke before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He cautioned lawmakers that the central bank’s terminal rate will likely be higher than previously anticipated due to stubbornly high economic data in recent weeks.
″[Powell] is being very, very clear that if you look at what happened over the past year and a half, the call on inflation didn’t pan out,” Morgan Stanley’s global chief economist Seth Carpenter said.
“I think now Powell is very much on board with the idea that he does not want to get caught flat-footed again, and so opening the door very wide for a 50 basis point hike was exactly what he did,” Carpenter added.
On Wednesday, investors will be closely watching Powell speak before the House Financial Services Committee. Separately, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin will also be speaking on the labor market Wednesday morning. January’s job openings and labor turnover data is also due.