Markets: Wall Street slides as Fed refuses further stimulus
Federal Reserve signals it will provide no further easing following its latest policy meeting.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 0.5 per cent before paring back some of its losses after the Federal Reserve dashed investor hopes by confirming at its latest policy meeting that it will not plough any further stimulus into the economy.
No single sector dominated yesterday (1 August) as trading patterns fluctuated throughout the day and nine out of 10 sectors on Wall Street were in negative territory by the end of the day.
One of Wall Street’s best performers on Wednesday was Frontier Communications, whose shares rose 10.7 per cent to $4.34. The phone and internet provider to consumers and businesses in rural and small towns beat analysts’ earnings estimates.
The telecoms sector continues to be Wall Street’s strongest performing sector, with the S&P telecom index gaining 20 per cent in the year to date.
On the other hand Knight Capital Group, the market-making and trading firm, lost a third of its market capitalisation after the company told customers to execute trades elsewhere because of “technology issues”. Shares plummeted 32.8 per cent to $6.94
The S&P 500 closed 0.3 per cent down at 1,375, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.3 per cent lower at 12,977, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 per cent to 2,920.