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MARKETS LIVE BLOG:

S&P 500 HOLDS NEAR RECORD AS U.S. JOBS DATA SHOW MORE COOLING

Unemployment rate unexpectedly rose slightly to 4.1%, the highest level since November 2021

Stock losses deepen as Wall Street braces for 'higher for longer' interest rates: Stock market news today

Karen Friar and Hamza Shaban
·1 min read

Tech stocks led a broad equity retreat Thursday, as Wall Street fretted about the hawkish message sent out by the Federal Reserve alongside its decision to hold interest rates steady.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) sank 1.6%, after losing almost 1% on Wednesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell about 1.8% to continue to lead the declines.

After combing through the central bank's forecast, investors believe its policymakers see interest rates staying "higher for longer." The debate is over just how long that "longer" will be, given the central bank signaled another hike at one of its final two meetings this year. Goldman Sachs has pushed back its forecast for a Fed rate cut to the fourth quarter of 2024.

Read more: What the Fed rate-hike pause means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards

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The prospect of a prolonged period of elevated rates has spooked some investors, as that would put pressure on stocks and bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury rose on Thursday, at one point touching its highest level in over 15 years.

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed policy will be dependent on economic data in his press conference. Official figures out Thursday showed jobless claims last week fell to their lowest level since January, the latest sign of strength in the US labor market.

The Bank of England decided to hold interest rates steady on Thursday, pausing tightening after hiking 14 times in a row after an unexpected slowdown in inflation. Elsewhere in European central banks, there were a couple of surprises: The Swiss National Bank kept its rates on hold while Norway's central bank signaled it could follow September's hike with another in December.

In individual stocks, shares of FedEx popped after a big quarterly profit beat.

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