NEW YORK, Sept 22 — Wall Street stocks fell early today, extending a retreat as more central banks joined the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates in response to soaring inflation.
The Bank of England today announced its second consecutive half-point rate increase and warned the British economy was slipping into recession. Others to tighten the screws include the European, Swiss and Norwegian central banks.
The Fed announced its latest supersized 0.75 percentage point rate hike yesterday that was accompanied by a grim acknowledgement that countering inflation would not be “painless,” as Fed Chair Jerome Powell put it.
“What hit home for market participants yesterday is that the Fed, steered by Fed Chair Powell, really means business now in restoring price stability, and if that means a hard landing for the economy, so be it,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5 per cent at 30,042.90.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.6 per cent to 3,765.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.0 per cent to 11,112.34.
Tesla shares fell 1.9 per cent as it recalled 1.1 million vehicles due to a defect with the automatic window system that poses risks of pinching a driver’s finger.
Target fell 1.9 per cent after the big-box retailer announced plans to hire up to 100,000 seasonal workers and begin holiday promotions in early October. — AFP
