Wall Street jitters after the Fed

Last updated 22:12

The US market indices are gradually heading into negative territory, as the Federal Reserve minutes brought back the possibility of a recession to the fore, offsetting the optimism about the new escalation of inflation.

In particular, the industrial index Dow Jones now moving around fixed at 33,667 After writing off winnings over 200 units, they are extended Standard & Poor’s 500 back off 0,2% in 4,100 unitswhile the technically weighted Nasdaq index is in 11,971 units with falls 0,5%.

As the Fed’s March meeting minutes (published at 9 a.m. Greek time) show, many Fed officials considered delaying rate hikes until it was clear that a collapse of two regional banks would not cause a broader financial stress, but concluded that Height. Inflation remains a top priority.

In fact, Fed staff said it now includes a “moderate recession” starting later this year “given an assessment of the potential economic impact of recent developments in the banking sector.”

In any case, regarding the bank’s future moves, Fed officials said that due to the heightened uncertainty, they would “closely monitor the information coming in.”

Earlier in the day, it was known that annual inflation in the United States slowed significantly in March, while on a monthly basis the increase it showed was less than estimated, which revived hopes that the Federal Reserve will choose a softer stance on interest rates in the coming months.

Specifically, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in March versus 0.4% in February, with the market expecting a 0.2% rise.

On an annual basis, inflation slowed to 5% from 6% previously, also below expectations of 5.2%.

However, in core inflationary pressures, the structural measure that excludes changes in energy and food, prices showed a larger monthly rise of 0.4%, after a 0.5% rise in February, with the yearly measure strengthening to 5.6% (from 5.5% in February). ).

In fact, this is the first time in more than two years that the structural index has surpassed the broader index.

Richard Flynn, CEO of Charles Schwab UK, said in a note.

Investors are also expected to focus on the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, scheduled for later in the day, for further evidence of the central bank’s decision to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points (0.25%) in the wake of the silicon meltdown. Valley Bank.

Elsewhere, the first major corporate results are also expected at the end of the week, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup reporting first-quarter results, as well as healthcare giant United Health.