DKS - Powell Comments Put Chill into Stock Markets
Stocks sold off Tuesday after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that rates may need to go higher for longer, fueling fears of a potentially larger rate hike at the central bank's next policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 212.99 points in the first hour to 33,218.45.
The S&P 500 woozed 36.25 points to 4,012.17.
The NASDAQ Composite sank 105.51 points to 11,570.23.
The comments seemed to suggest that the Fed may implement a larger rate hike than last month's 25 basis point increase at its next policy meeting on March 21-22. At the same time, it could mean the federal funds, or terminal rate, will likely go higher than previously expected, despite investor hopes that the Fed will stop hiking soon.
In other news, Dick's Sporting Goods shares popped more than 7% on a strong holiday quarter. WW International leapt more than 30% on plans to acquire Sequence, a subscription telehealth platform with a focus on chronic weight management.
Investor attention remains laser-focused on February's jobs report slated for Friday, after January's blockbuster number showed a resilient labour market despite the Fed's aggressive hiking.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell slightly raising yields to 3.99% from Monday's 3.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 88 cents to $79.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stumbled $22.90 to $1,831.70 U.S. an ounce.