US open: Stocks trade lower following comments from Fed chairman
Wall Street stocks traded lower early on Thursday as market participants digested comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell.
As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12% at 31,544.41, while the S&P 500 was 0.06% weaker at 3,977.44 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.09% softer at 11,781.64.
The Dow opened 36.87 points higher on Thursday, taking a modest bite out of solid gains recorded in the previous session.
Thursday's primary focus will likely be comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell at 1410 BST, with the central bank head stating policymakers would have to "keep at it" until inflation came down. In remarks at the Cato Institute in Washington DC, Powell said that it was key to understand if the world was shifting to structurally higher inflation and also said fiscal policy was not on a sustainable path and needed to be fixed "sooner rather than later".
Market participants also looked across the pond, with the European Central Bank lifted interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points as it looks to tackle surging inflation. The ECB lifted its key interest rate to 1.25%, as widely expected, and the deposit rate to 0.75% from zero. It also said it now expects inflation to average 8.1% this year, 5.5% in 2023, and 2.3% in 2024. In the year to August, eurozone inflation rose to a record high of 9.1% from 8.9% a month earlier, with energy prices up a whopping 38.3% year over year.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped back more than ten basis points at the bell and was sitting at 3.255%, while the 2-year note dropped ever so slightly to 3.485%.
On the macro front, Americans filed new jobless claims at a decelerated pace in the week ended 3 September, according to the Department of Labor. Initial unemployment claims fell by 6,000 last week, falling to 222,000 from a downwardly revised print of 228,000 in the previous week and well below consensus expectations for a reading of 240,000.
Still to come, July consumer credit change figures will follow at 2000 BST.
In the corporate space, Apple was in focus after the tech behemoth announced a slate of new products, including its new flagship iPhone.
Smith & Wesson, DocuSign, and Zumiez will report earnings after the close.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $117.30 1.21%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $154.04 0.50%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $523.79 0.40%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $259.19 0.30%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $331.40 0.25%
Boeing Co. (BA) $156.09 0.09%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.08 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $155.00 -0.07%
Dow Jones - Fallers
3M Co. (MMM) $117.17 -2.80%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $106.79 -1.56%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.18 -1.52%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $35.60 -1.34%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $178.49 -1.31%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.57 -1.19%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $111.41 -1.14%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $48.43 -1.10%
Visa Inc. (V) $198.36 -1.03%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $136.43 -0.91%
S&P 500 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $670.14 12.36%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $47.32 3.21%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $29.26 3.10%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $91.98 2.97%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $205.88 2.60%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $27.26 1.94%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $84.42 1.87%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $25.75 1.86%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $284.16 1.78%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $34.13 1.67%
S&P 500 - Fallers
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $78.12 -8.09%
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $113.09 -4.83%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $31.70 -4.78%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $84.82 -4.24%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $8.49 -3.36%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $47.74 -3.17%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $9.32 -3.02%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $17.15 -3.00%
Kellogg Co. (K) $71.03 -2.92%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $155.84 -2.84%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $670.14 12.36%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $205.88 2.60%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $212.70 0.87%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $286.41 0.69%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $65.18 0.60%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,882.24 0.52%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $166.55 0.47%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $22.95 0.42%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.55 0.37%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $32.03 0.34%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.78 -4.79%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $83.35 -4.44%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $84.82 -4.24%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $24.44 -3.44%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $17.15 -3.00%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $63.82 -2.74%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $34.04 -2.67%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $12.42 -2.48%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.42 -2.42%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $223.59 -2.35%