2023-07-05 23:43:17
Por Lewis Krauskopf e Bansari Mayur Kamdar e Johann M Cherian
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes ended modestly lower on Wednesday as investors digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting as they awaited key economic data forecast for the next few days.
The minutes showed that a united Fed had agreed to keep the policy rate unchanged at the June meeting as a way to buy time and assess whether further rate hikes were needed.
After the release of the minutes, investors still expected the US central bank to raise the base rate at its next meeting later this month. Relevant economic data is expected to be released ahead of the meeting, including the monthly US jobs report on Friday.
The Dow Jones fell 0.38% to 34,288.64 points. The S&P 500 lost 0.20% to 4,446.82 points. The Nasdaq technology index fell 0.18% to 13,791.65 points.
The materials sector was the biggest loser in the S&P 500, down 2.5%.
Data released on Wednesday showed new orders for US-made goods rose less than expected in May, fueling fears of an economic slowdown. Meanwhile, China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in five months in June, according to a private sector survey.
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