Wall Street ends down as debt-ceiling clouds hover | Inquirer Business

Wall Street ends down as debt-ceiling clouds hover

/ 08:53 AM May 25, 2023

Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower on Wednesday as talks between the White House and Republican representatives on raising the U.S. debt ceiling dragged on without a deal.

The lack of progress on raising the U.S. government’s $31.4-trillion debt limit ahead of a June 1 deadline, with several rounds of inconclusive talks, has made investors edgier as the risk of a catastrophic default looms larger.

Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy’s negotiators held what the White House called productive talks.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Up until yesterday, investors have been very optimistic around the U.S. debt ceiling resolution,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones. “But now as we get closer … to the June 1st X-date, we are seeing some caution again.

FEATURED STORIES

READ:  Biden, McCarthy meeting ends with no deal on debt ceiling

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255.59 points, or 0.77 percent, to 32,799.92, the S&P 500 lost 30.34 points, or 0.73 percent, to 4,115.24 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 76.08 points, or 0.61 percent, to 12,484.16.

Article continues after this advertisement

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended in negative territory, with real estate falling the most. Energy was the lone sector gainer.

Article continues after this advertisement

The CBOE Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, hovered around three-week highs.

Article continues after this advertisement

Federal Reserve policy was also in focus. Stocks held their declines after the release of minutes from the Fed’s May 2-3 meeting, showing that Fed officials “generally agreed” last month that the need for further interest rate increases “had become less certain.”

Investors expect the central bank to pause its aggressive rate hiking campaign at its June 13-14 meeting.

Article continues after this advertisement

https://business.inquirer.net/400286/us-consumer-prices-increased-solidly-in-april

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he is concerned about the lack of progress on inflation, and while skipping an interest rate hike at the central bank’s meeting next month may be possible, an end to the hiking campaign is not likely.

“The economy is still doing OK, and there really is not, from the Fed’s perspective, a reason to back away from a tighter monetary policy,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management.

In company news, Citigroup Inc shares fell 3.1 percent as the bank scrapped a $7 -billion sale of its Mexican consumer unit Banamex and will list it instead.

Agilent Technologies Inc shares shed about 6 percent after the company cut its annual sales and profit forecasts.

Shares of TurboTax-owner Intuit Inc dropped 7.5 percent after a disappointing profit forecast.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 3.71-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.34-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 14 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 110 new lows.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

About 9.7 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 10.5 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

TAGS: debt ceiling, negotiations, Wall Street

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.