US stocks fall as Fed interest rate cut hopes fade
U.S. stocks finished lower on Monday, their second consecutive down day, as dimming prospects that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates anytime soon weighed on equities.
The weaker hopes for cheaper money stemmed from last week's better-than-expected jobs report.
The Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight this week. Chairman Jerome Powell will present his semi-annual testimony to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. His appearance will give investors an opportunity to gauge near-term monetary policy thinking. Also, the Fed will release the central bank's June meeting minutes on Wednesday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was largely unchanged at 2.04 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Crude oil prices steadied as tensions over Iran's nuclear program offset concerns that the growth rate of the global economy may be slowing. U.S. benchmark crude oil slipped to $57.44 per barrel.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 37775.38 | +22.07 | +0.06% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5011.12 | -11.09 | -0.22% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15601.498878 | -81.87 | -0.52% |
Boeing shares declined after Saudi Arabian budget airline flyadeal said it would not proceed with a provisional $5.9 billion order for the planemaker's grounded 737 MAX aircraft, instead opting for a fleet of Airbus A320 jets.
Shares of big-cap consumer corporations and tech titans were lower across the board, accounting for much of the weakness in the major stock market averages.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 170.23 | +0.02 | +0.01% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 167.04 | -0.96 | -0.57% |
| FB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 155.97 | +0.50 | +0.32% |
In Asia on Monday, China's Shanghai dropped 2.6 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei was off 0.9 percent.
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European markets ended the day lower. London's FTSE was down less than 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX was lower by 0.2 percent and France's CAC slipped 0.1 percent.