- Following the release of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting minutes, US equities continued their downward trend while bonds somewhat increased.
- The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, the Russell 2000 small caps gauge dropped 2.6%, Tesla Inc. and semiconductor stocks slumped, and crypto-tied equities failed as Bitcoin erased most of its gains this year. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%, extending a losing streak for a fourth day - the longest in over two months - as investors continued to retreat from last year's winning tech stocks.
- The dollar strengthened for a fourth day, the longest run since November.
- Swaps traders had been factoring in a complete quarter point fall to the benchmark rate by the March meeting on Friday, but Fed policymakers revealed rates could stay restrictive for longer than expected last month, while adding rates cuts could emerge before the year is up.
- The 10-year Treasury rate reversed its previous rise to slightly over 4%, the highest level since mid-December, and Treasury rates ended the day close to session lows.
- The manufacturing index of the Institute for Supply Management hit 47.4 last month, according to data released on Wednesday. The index has been below the 50 level, which denotes a contraction, since late 2022. Separate data revealed that the number of job openings decreased marginally in November compared to the revised number from the previous month.
