Wall Street Slips as Fed Officials Discuss Rate Hikes

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U.S. equity markets fell on Thursday despite a mid-day recovery bid as traders worried about looming rate hikes.

Today's Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.6 points, or 0.16%, to 16841, the S&P 500 declined 3 points, or 0.15%, to 1956 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.7 points, or 0.06%, to 4377.

The markets took a hit during the middle of the week, but they rebounded on Wednesday despite weak economic data.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told FOX Business the central bank should be well-positioned to start hiking rates by the first quarter of 2015, if his forecasts for solid growth in the second half of this year come to fruition. Richmond Fed chief Jeffrey Lacker made similar comments, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The Labor Department said the number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits fell to 312,000 last week from an upwardly revised 314,000 the week prior. Wall Street expected claims to fall to 310,000 from an initially reported 312,000.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported consumer spending rose 0.2% in May, lower than the 0.4% increase Wall Street expected. Personal income, meanwhile, rose 0.4% in the same month, matching economists’ estimates.

In corporate news, Alcoa (NYSE:AA) said it will buy aircraft parts maker Firth Rixson from private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital for $2.85 billion in cash and stock. GoPro is set to make its public debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market after pricing at the upper end of its range.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures fell 20 cents, or 0.19%, to $106.29 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline fell 0.12% to $3.089 a gallon. Gold dropped $14.60, or 1.1%, to $1,308 a troy ounce.