After the Federal Reserve confirmed its fear of a return to inflation… US stocks are falling again
On Wednesday, US stocks continued their poor performance during the current month, driven this time by what was stated in the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting, as their main indices declined for the second day in a row, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 180 points.
The minutes of the last bank meeting, which was published today, Wednesday, showed the concern of bank officials about the return of the inflation rate to rise in the coming months, as they indicated that more interest rate hikes may be imposed on them, to deal with this rise, if it occurs.
This vision of the world’s largest central bank official caused a decline in investor sentiment, as they considered it a prelude by the bank to raise interest again, after analyzes had indicated that this possibility had declined.
By the end of Wednesday’s trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s losses accounted for more than half a percentage point, and reached three-quarters of them in the S&P 500 index, while it was in the Nasdaq 1.15%.
In Europe, stocks fell today, Wednesday, driven by a decline in banking stocks, with the increasing prospects for a slowdown in the Chinese economy, while British stocks were pressured by growing concerns about the persistence of high inflation.
The Stoxx 600 European stock index ended the day’s trading down 0.1%, after reducing its losses, which reached 0.4% during the trading session. The session also witnessed the European index recording its lowest level in nearly a month.
The European banks index fell 0.7%, touching its lowest level in a week, with the share of HSBC Bank affected by the Chinese economy falling for the fifth session by 1.7%, its lowest level in more than two months.
The luxury brands “LVMH” and “Kring”, which are affected by Chinese consumer demand, fell 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
On the same day, the FTSE 100 index in Britain fell 0.4%, coinciding with growing fears that inflation will continue to rise in the country, as the main measures of price growth monitored by the Bank of England (central) in July remained high, despite the sharp decline. In the rate of inflation., as it was announced recently.
In a related matter, oil closed today, Wednesday, lower, despite the significant decline in US crude stocks, as investors are assessing concerns about China’s faltering economy, in exchange for expectations of a shortage of supplies in the United States, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures fell $1.44, or 1.7%, to $83.45 a barrel, while US West Texas crude fell $1.61, or 2%, to $79.38, upon settlement.
And the two benchmarks recorded their lowest levels since August 8, yesterday, Tuesday, after a loss of more than 1%.
Data from the Energy Information Administration showed today, Wednesday, that US crude oil stocks fell by about six million barrels last week as a result of strong exports and refining operating rates, despite the rise in crude production to its highest levels since the Corona virus pandemic severely reduced fuel consumption.
Reuters indicated that the supply of gasoline decreased by 451 thousand barrels per day this week, with the approaching peak driving season.
China’s economy continues to be closely watched after retail sales, industrial output and investment data came in below expectations, stoking fears of a deeper and longer-term slowdown in growth in the world’s second-largest economy and biggest importer of crude.
Supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia have pushed oil prices up for seven straight weeks. Figures published today, Wednesday, showed that Riyadh’s crude exports fell to their lowest levels since September 2021.
2023-08-16 21:36:04
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