US close: Stocks sharply lower following Powell comments

Major indices closed sharply lower on Wednesday as market participants digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.58% at 42,326.87, while the S&P 500 lost 2.95% to 5,872.16 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.56% weaker at 19,392.69.

The Dow tumbled 1,123.03 points on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Stocks were firmly in the red at the close of trading on Wednesday after the US central bank cut rates as expected but policymakers indicated that they were now anticipating fewer reductions in 2025. Furthermore, macroeconomic projections from the Federal Reserve's board members and regional presidents showed that they were also anticipating slightly higher inflation during the following year.

"We are significantly closer to neutral. We still think where we are is meaningfully restrictive," Jerome Powell would go on to say during his post-meeting press conference. "And I think from this point forward, it's appropriate to move cautiously and look for progress on inflation. We've done a lot to support economic activity by cutting a hundred basis points."

Elsewhere on the macro front, mortgage applications fell 0.70% in the week ended 13 December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, cutting into the prior week's 5.4% surge. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 3%, while applications to purchase a home rose 1%.

Still on data, US building permits surged 6.1% in November to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.50m, according to the Census Bureau, erasing October's 0.4% decline and well and truly ahead of expectations for a print of 1.43m. Housing starts, on the other hand, unexpectedly fell 1.8% to 1.28m in November, the lowest reading in four months and missing expectations for an increase from 1.31m in October to 1.34m.

No major corporate earnings were released on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $499.72 2.92%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $172.62 -0.24%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $169.08 -0.73%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.85 -0.87%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $40.15 -1.04%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $144.75 -1.13%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.24 -1.32%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.90 -1.41%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.35 -1.48%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.30 -5.58%
American Express Co. (AXP) $287.78 -4.50%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $550.25 -4.25%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $337.23 -3.91%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $220.17 -3.84%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $437.39 -3.76%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $393.82 -3.59%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $230.37 -3.35%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $363.89 -3.17%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $236.03 -3.12%

S&P 500 - Risers

CIGNA Corp. (CI) $282.41 6.33%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $499.72 2.92%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $59.49 2.91%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $45.28 2.82%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $239.85 2.55%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $570.98 1.46%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $36.99 1.04%
CME Group Inc. (CME) $237.08 0.46%
Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI) $462.68 0.20%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $115.91 0.08%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.93 -9.30%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $40.79 -8.91%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $74.23 -7.63%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $90.54 -7.19%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $212.69 -7.05%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $223.62 -6.91%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $69.05 -6.83%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $60.69 -6.79%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $134.03 -6.35%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $103.21 -6.25%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.77 0.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $0.00 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $0.00 0.00%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $94.42 0.00%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $0.00 0.00%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $0.00 0.00%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $103.90 0.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $0.00 0.00%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $0.00 0.00%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $0.00 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $440.13 -8.28%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $212.69 -7.05%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $223.62 -6.91%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $134.03 -6.35%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $85.45 -5.95%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $27.73 -5.62%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.30 -5.58%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,716.38 -5.13%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.33 -4.92%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $447.50 -4.63%