U.S. Stocks fell Thursday as renewed concern swirled on Wall Street over the course of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, and whether policymakers will enact another hike this year.
The Nasdaq Composite fell for a fourth day, losing more than 1%. The S&P 500 slid 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded just below the flatline.
Apple shares dropped nearly 4% on a Bloomberg News report that China’s looking to broaden a ban on the use of iPhones in state-owned companies and agencies.
Asensus Surgical surged over 32% in premarket trading as it announced collaboration with Nvidia to enhance augmented intelligence capabilities of the ISU.
A series of economic data points Thursday — including fewer-than-expected jobless claims — contributed to fears that the still strong labor market may make the Federal Reserve think twice about relaxing its tight monetary policy stance. Weekly jobless claims came in at 216,000, versus the 230,000 expected by Dow Jones, while second-quarter labor costs rose more than anticipated.
Traders also combed through the latest corporate earnings reports. C3.ai slid more than 9% after reporting lower-than-expected gross margin in the recent quarter, while ChargePoint Holdings plunged about 11% after missing revenue estimates.
Major U.S. stock benchmarks are coming off a losing session Wednesday as higher Treasury yields pressured tech stocks and heightened investor worries that the Federal Reserve will use recent stronger-than-expected economic data to justify additional hikes.
“Given the data, the Fed will most likely deliver a hawkish pause at the next meeting,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. “The hard data is not yet convincing enough to establish strong views about the subsequent meetings. Investors should still find opportunities in the market but it could be a bumpy ride.”
While 93% of interest rate traders foresee no change at September’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, expectations of an additional interest rate hike at the November meeting rose above 40%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
