S&P 500 declines after Powell’s remarks

• The main Wall Street indices fell between 0.23% and 0.98%, with the exception of the Dow Jones which rose 0.18%.
• Fed Chairman Powell worried about high inflation.
• Communications and construction drag the S&P 500 lower.

The S&P 500 lost previous daily gains, down 0.12%, stands at 4,544.36 as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell admits that central banks carefully monitor price pressures and would act as needed.

When the S & P500 spot market opened, market sentiment was bullish, with the top three US stock indices, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial and the Nasdaq, in the green. But when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell began his speech, conditions changed. At the close of this edition, the aforementioned indices recorded losses between 0.23% and 0.98%, with the exception of the Dow Jones Industrial, which rose 0.18%.

The sectors of the S&P 500 that lost the most are Communications followed by Construction, registering losses of 2.61% and 0.46%, respectively. While the winners are the financial sector with an increase of 1.27% and the real estate sector 0.74%, which are explained thanks to the higher yields of US treasury bonds.

Fed Chairman Powell concerned about high inflation

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he is concerned about higher inflation, adding that the central bank would monitor signs that households and businesses expect sustained upward price pressures.

Powell added that the Fed is on track to begin the downsizing, and if the economy evolves as they (the Fed) expected, it will be completed in the first half of 2022. He reiterated that while it favors the timing of QE downsizing, he added: “I don’t think this is the time to raise rates.”

S&P 500 daily chart