New York Report: Interest hike fears hurt US
US stocks fell yesterday after comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen raised the possibility of an earlier- than-anticipated increase in interest rates.
The central bank dropped the US unemployment rate as its definitive yardstick for gauging the economy’s strength and made clear it would rely on a wide range of measures in deciding when to raise interest rates.
FedEx hit a sour note in its outlook.
The economic bellwether FedEx posted results below expectations and gave a weak full-year profit forecast, but the package shipper said it had been significantly hurt by winter storms, and the stock slipped 0.1 percent to close at $138.38.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 114.02 points or 0.70 per cent, to end at 16,222.17. The S&P 500 slipped 11.48 points or 0.61 per cent, to finish at 1,860.77. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 25.711 points or 0.59 per cent, to close at 4,307.602.