US stocks weakened significantly today, as concerns about the negative effects of high interest rates persist on the market. The Dow Jones index, which includes shares of thirty leading American companies, lost 1.14 percent today and ended trading at 33,618.88 points. The broader S&P 500 index fell 1.47 percent to 4,273.52 points and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies from the advanced technology sector, fell 1.57 percent to 13,063.61 points.
Fed
The US Central Bank (Fed) last week left its key interest rate unchanged in the range of 5.25 to 5.50 percent, as expected. However, she indicated that she intends to keep interest rates high for a longer period of time and that she may raise them further. Yields on ten-year US government bonds climbed to 16-year highs as a result of the Fed’s statement.
Shares of online store Amazon weakened by more than four percent today. They responded to the news that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company. The FTC claims that the company is abusing its dominant position in the market for its own benefit and forcing consumers to pay higher prices for goods. As part of the lawsuit, the Commission asked the court to consider whether it should force Amazon to sell some activities in order to stop the negative effects on consumers.
A new high
In the foreign exchange market today, the US dollar climbed to a new ten-month high against a basket of currencies, supported by high yields on US bonds. The euro lost roughly 0.2 percent to USD 1.0570 at around 10:00 PM CEST. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, gained roughly 0.2 percent to 106.2 points.
source: ČTK
