© Archyde.com. A trader trades on the Wall Street Stock Exchange in New York on Monday. Photo: Brendan McDermid/Archyde.com.
(Archyde.com) – Wall Street closed lower for a third straight session on Tuesday as positive data on the US labor market stoked fears that the Federal Reserve had another reason to keep its aggressive course of interest rate increases to fight inflation.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index has tumbled more than 5 percent since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday reiterated the central bank’s determination to raise interest rates even if it slows the economy.
Labor demand in the world’s largest economy showed no signs of easing in July. A separate report showed that consumer confidence registered a strong increase in August after three consecutive monthly declines.
The market is now awaiting the US jobs data for August, which will be released on Friday.
According to preliminary data, the Standard & Poor’s 500 ended the trading session down 44.47 points, or 1.10 percent, to 3,986.14 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 128.85 points, or 1.07 percent, to close at 11,888.82 points.
The industrial index fell 308.68 points, or 0.95 percent, to 31790.31 points.
(Prepared by Wagdy Al-Alfi for the Arabic Bulletin)