WASHINGTON: Wall Street stocks slipped early Friday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the US central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent to 43,599.25.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index retreated 0.7 percent to 5,906.46, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 1.3 percent to 18,861.20.
Wall St little changed after in-line monthly producer prices
The losses came a day after Powell said that US economic growth remained resilient while inflation, though running closer to the central bank’s target, had not reached it just yet.
Powell delivered a “rather deliberate message to the market” that a further rate reduction in December might not be forthcoming, said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.
Following his comments, the yield on the 10-year and two-year US Treasury notes climbed higher on Friday.
Analysts on Friday also took in retail sales figures that – while still solid – were held back by fallout from devastating hurricanes.
Meanwhile, industrial production declined again in October by 0.3 percent, with output held down by a worker strike at an aircraft manufacturer.
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