Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 1,008 Points as Powell Speech Rattles Markets
Stocks took a plunge Friday as a favorable reading on inflation did little to offset the hawkish tone struck by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a much-anticipated speech. Ahead of the opening bell, data from the Commerce Department showed that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index – the Fed''s preferred measure of inflation that tracks consumer spending – was up 6.3% year-over-year in July, slower than the 6.8% rise seen in June. On a month-over-month basis, the index fell 0.1%. Core PCE, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, was up 4.6% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month – both figures below what was reported last month and what economists'' were expecting. SEE MORE 5 First-Class Fintech Stocks to Watch But one or two data points does not make a trend, as Powell indicated in his mid-morning speech at the central bank''s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "While the lower inflation readings for July are welcome, a single month''s improvement falls far short of what the Committee will need to see before we are confident that inflation is moving down," Powell said, while signaling that more rate hikes are needed to bring inflation down.
Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 1,008 Points as Powell Speech Rattles Markets
Stocks took a plunge Friday as a favorable reading on inflation did little to offset the hawkish tone struck by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a much-anticipated speech. Ahead of the opening bell, data from the Commerce Department showed that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index – the Fed''s preferred measure of inflation that tracks consumer spending – was up 6.3% year-over-year in July, slower than the 6.8% rise seen in June. On a month-over-month basis, the index fell 0.1%. Core PCE, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, was up 4.6% year-over-year and 0.1% month-over-month – both figures below what was reported last month and what economists'' were expecting. SEE MORE 5 First-Class Fintech Stocks to Watch But one or two data points does not make a trend, as Powell indicated in his mid-morning speech at the central bank''s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "While the lower inflation readings for July are welcome, a single month''s improvement falls far short of what the Committee will need to see before we are confident that inflation is moving down," Powell said, while signaling that more rate hikes are needed to bring inflation down.