European Indexes

	Index	Country	Change	% Change	Level	Last Update
	FTSE 100	England	-116.83	-1.72%	6,660.12	4:33am ET
	Euronext 100	Europe	-16.33	-1.85%	866.66	4:18am ET
	CAC 40	France	-84.66	-1.88%	4,406.74	4:18am ET
	DAX	Germany	-223.28	-2.11%	10,350.16	4:33am ET
	Swiss Market Index	Switzerland	-117.93	-1.43%	8,146.20	4:33am ET

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18085.45		-394.46	-2.13%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2127.81		-53.49	-2.45%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5125.91		-133.57	-2.54%

 

Stocks sell off, all 3 major indexes post worst day since June 24 Fed fears loom

U.S. equities closed sharply lower on Friday as concerns the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates this month loomed following comments made by key Fed officials.

" The Fed is clearly on a choreographed path it wants to raise rates this year," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities " What the market is trying to re-calibrate is whether that means September or December." .

" The commentary from a voting member that the Fed may be forced to raise rates is important," said Kim Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital. " I think the market needs to understand that there may be a rate hike coming. Whether it' s September or December, it does not matter big picture. "

" I think the key thing here is Eric Rosengren' s speech," said David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds. " I think they are trying to box themselves into a corner where they have to raise rates in September in order to maintain credibility. "

" If the market does sell off in anticipation of a rate hike, I think it will recover pretty quickly," Kelly added, noting a rate hike would ultimately be seen as a vote of confidence for the economy.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said in a speech low interest rates are increasing the chance of overheating the U.S. economy. Gradually tightening monetary policy is appropriate to maintaining full employment, he added.

" Voting member Eric Rosengren, historically a dove, repeated his desire (was hawkish two weeks ago) for a rate hike notwithstanding the soft data over the past week," Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, said in a note to clients. " Bottom line, this is important because here we have is a voting member, a dove and someone that is calling for a rate hike even after the recent string of weak economic data."

Investors also kept an eye on oil prices Friday. U.S. crude settled 3.65 percent lower at $ 45.88 a barrel, a day after surging more than 4.5 percent following a 14.5 million barrel drawdown reported by the Energy Information Administration.

Still, WTI posted a weekly gain of more than 3 percent, according to FactSet. Baker Hughes said U.S. oil rigs rose by 7.

Wholesale trade data for July showed inventories remained unchanged, while sales fell 0.4 percent.

U.S. Treasurys fell broadly on Friday, with the two-year note yield near 0.79 percent and the benchmark 10-year note yield around 1.67 percent. The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of currencies, with the euro near $ 1.1218 and the yen around 102.7.

Overseas, European equities slid, with the Stoxx 600 falling 1.09 percent. In Asia, stocks closed mostly lower after North Korea held a nuclear test.

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Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18479.91		-46.23	-0.25%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2181.30		-4.86	-0.22%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5259.48		-24.44	-0.46%

 

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18526.14		-11.98	-0.06%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2186.16		-0.32	-0.01%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5283.93		8.02	0.15%

 

Stocks close mixed after Beige Book Nasdaq posts 4-day win streak

U.S. stocks closed mixed Wednesday, with consumer staples lagging, as investors digested the release of the Federal Reserve' s Beige Book.

" It does feel like a calm before a storm as we head into the next Fed meeting," said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners, pointing to recently weak economic data. " People are starting to talk about that, whether it' s noise or is it a sign of something scary coming ahead. "

" The logical person at this juncture can look at the data and say the Fed is not going to raise interest rates," said Adam Sarhan, CEO at Sarhan Capital. " What the market is asking the Fed is where is this hawkish data that supports a rate hike. "

The Beige Book, an important indicator on the state of the U.S. economy and as such, is a critical tool for the Fed in making key decisions, showed the Fed sees moderate wage growth in the coming months.

Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, said the comments in the Beige Book were not surprising. " The economic data certainly does not call for a rate hike but the fed funds rate should never have been this low in the 7th year of an economic expansion, " he said in a note to clients.

" I think we get a better read of the U.S. economy and [the report] will be watched a bit more closely in the wake of the disappointing ISM and jobs report numbers," Wunderlich' s Hogan said ahead of the Beige Book' s release.

Market participants digested a very weak ISM services print for August on Tuesday, but stocks managed to close higher, with the Nasdaq posting new all-time high of 5,275.91 at the close.

Other economic data due Wednesday included the July read on the Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which showed employers posting 5.9 million job openings for that month.

" It' s more logical for the Fed to raise rates in September because there is a seven-week window for the market to correct itself, if needed," Schwab' s Frederick said. " But if they wait until after the election and the market sells off, there is only a five-week window. "

Market expectations for a September rate hike were 15 percent on Wednesday, according to the CME Group' s FedWatch tool.

" If they hike this year, I think it' s going to be one-and-done," said Minh Trang, senior FX trader at Silicon Valley Bank.

In oil markets, U.S. crude settled 1.49 percent higher at $ 45.50 per barrel in choppy trade, despite waning hopes that the world' s largest oil producers would rein in output.

Gold futures for December delivery settled $ 4.80 lower at $ 1,349.20 per ounce.

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Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Industrials	18538.12		46.16	0.25%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2186.48		6.50	0.30%
NASDAQ	NASDAQ Composite	5275.91		26.01	0.50%