Fed Official's Comments Cause Stocks to Slip

Stocks fell Thursday on Wall Street after more indications from the Federal Reserve that it may need to raise interest rates even higher to get inflation under control. The indexes are now on pace for weekly losses, while the yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 4.45%.

• The S&P 500 fell 12.23 points, or 0.3%, to 3,946.56.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.51 points, or less than 0.1%, to 33,546.32.
• The Nasdaq fell 38.70 points, or 0.3%, to 11,144.96.

The Fed has been raising rates aggressively in order to tame inflation by applying the brakes to the economy. Investors have been hoping that more signs of easing inflation could help the central bank shift to less aggressive rate increases. The central bank, though, has been clear about its intent to keep raising rates, possibly to unexpectedly high levels, to tame inflation. James Bullard, who leads the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, reaffirmed that position in a presentation on Thursday, per the AP. Stock markets "got a little bit ahead of themselves" after getting encouraging reports on consumer and wholesale prices easing a bit, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. “But, the Fed knows they have a long way to go.”

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