ECONOMIC SILUET: Dow drops over 380 points | Federal Reserve preps for taper

Rabu, 18 Agustus 2021

Dow drops over 380 points | Federal Reserve preps for taper | Robinhood’s quarterly results

WED, AUG 18, 2021

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, AUG 18, 2021 • 04:51 ET

DJIA		34960.69
		-1.08%	-382.59

S&P 500		4400.27
		-1.07%	-47.81

NASDAQ		14525.91
		-0.89%	-130.27

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	146.36	-3.83	-2.55%
MSFT	290.73	-1.79	-0.61%
CSCO	55.15	-0.86	-1.54%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
PFE	49.31	-1.11	-2.20%
AAPL	146.36	-3.83	-2.55%
AMD	103.44	-4.12	-3.83%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	146.36	-3.83	-2.55%
AMD	103.44	-4.12	-3.83%
NVDA	190.40	-4.18	-2.15%

EDITOR'S NOTE

The stock market tumbled on Wednesday as investors got a key signal from the Federal Reserve about when they might see the next market-moving event.

The central bank released the minutes from its July meeting, showing that the majority of Fed officials were moving toward slowing their asset purchases later this year. That would be the first major step from the central bank toward tightening monetary policy since the pandemic began.

"Looking ahead, most participants noted that, provided that the economy were to evolve broadly as they anticipated, they judged that it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace of asset purchases this year," the minutes said.

Since the July meeting, the U.S. economy has seen hot readings for job gains and inflation, likely adding to the Fed's lean toward cutting purchases. Several central bank officials have called for their colleagues to change the policy soon, perhaps announcing the move at the Fed's September meeting.

The central bank has tried to be more open about its plan to cut asset purchases this time around, after the so-called "taper tantrum" following the financial crisis caused chaos in the bond market. The efforts appear to be working so far, with the 10-year Treasury yield trading well below its highs from earlier this year.

On the equities side, the S&P 500 slid more than 1% to close at 4,400.27 on Wednesday. The Dow slipped 382.59 points to end the day at 34,960.69, while the Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 0.9%.