US markets closed lower as investors wait Fed’s Powell

New York stock exchange faltered on Monday with all three major indices ending with losses of about two percent or more, as investors look for Fed’s chair Jerome Powell’s next speech on Friday. This among worries that Fed’s ongoing interest rate elevates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 640 points, or 1.9 percent, to close at 33,063.61.

The S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent to 4,137.99, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index decreased by 2.6 percent to finish at 12,381.57.

Powell expected to reiterate the message that the Fed is not yet ready to end the steep rate hikes needed to quell the surge in inflation, despite some signs of progress.

Markets refreshed higher in recent weeks as investors exploit the signs of a slowing economy, and slight easing of price pressures to send share prices higher.

Stock futures currently have Wall Street opening marginally in the green later today while European shares will fall at the opening.

Ford became the latest company to announce mass lay-offs yesterday.

The auto giant will cut 3k jobs this week in a major restructure as it looks to finance its $1 billion plan to transition to electric vehicles and compete with Tesla.