From Nasdaq:

U.S. stock markets closed sharply lower on Wednesday following the release of the Fed’s December FOMC meeting minutes, spurring concerns about interest cuts and economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%, Nasdaq Composite declined 2.1%, and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.8%. The market closed in negative territory, with specific sectors experiencing major dips like technology and materials.

Fed’s December FOMC Indicates Rate Cut

The minutes of the Fed’s December FOMC meeting suggested that an interest rate cut is expected to happen in 2024, without providing a specific timeline. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 6.4% to 14.04 while technology giants like Apple Inc., NVIDIA Corp, and Meta Platforms Inc. saw declines. The benchmark 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note yield settled at 3.91% following the release of the minutes,The Institute of Supply Management reported that the manufacturing Index for December came in at 47.4, marginally ahead of the consensus estimate of 47.2. The reading for November was 46.7, marking the . The new orders Index remained in contraction territory at 47.1, lower than November’s reading of 48.3. The Department of Labor revealed in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, that job openings were down 62,000 to 8.79 million in November.

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Read more: Stock Market News for Jan 4, 2024