On Tuesday, Wall Street closed on a mixed note. The benchmark index S&P 500 fell as Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that interest rates may stay higher.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.21% to close at 5,051.41 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.12% to finish the session at 15,865.25. Flipping the trend, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.86 points or 0.17% to settle the day’s trading at 37,798.97, snapping a six-day losing streak, the surge can be attributed to UnitedHealth shares. UnitedHealth rose more than 5% as it reported better-than-expected revenue for the first three months of 2024.
Stocks were trading volatile throughout the trading session as the Fed Chair said that the current state of economic policy must remain as it is on the back of higher prices.
Also, the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield briefly surged over 5% owing to Powell’s comments. The 10-year U.S. Treasuries’ yield touched a fresh five-month high on low expectations of Fed easing rates in 2024. Further, beating expectations China’s economic data has elevated worries that inflation can last long.
