U.S. stocks fall as investors assess Fed's policy path

New York (US), September 7: U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday, extending the losses they had suffered lately.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.14 points, or 0.55 percent, to 31,145.30. The S&P 500 decreased 16.07 points, or 0.41 percent, to 3,908.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 85.95 points, or 0.74 percent, to 11,544.91.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with communication services and energy down 1.26 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Real estate rose 1.02 percent, the best-performing group.
The Institute for Supply Management reported Tuesday that U.S. services purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 56.9 percent in August from 56.7 percent in the prior month. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion in the sector, while a reading below signifies contraction.
Wall Street continued to weigh U.S. inflation and how far the Federal Reserve will have to hike rates to bring down inflation to its target.
"The Fed will want to see inflation slowing and the labor market cooling off before they consider pausing the rate hiking cycle," UBS analysts said Tuesday in a note, adding "it is very likely" that the Fed will hike rates at each of the three remaining policy meetings in 2022.
In a speech at the central bank's Jackson Hole symposium in late August, Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed would continue to hike interest rates and keep monetary policy "restrictive" for some time.
For the week ending Friday, the Dow dropped 3 percent, the S&P 500 shed 3.3 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 4.2 percent. U.S. financial markets were closed on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday.
Source: Xinhua