Stocks fell early Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was expected in his testimony before Congress to predict further rate hikes this year.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) were both down around 0.3% at the open. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell nearly 0.5%.
“Almost all FOMC participants expect it to be appropriate to raise interest rates a little more by year-end,” Powell said in prepared remarks released ahead of the start of the conference. a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
An unexpected spat erupted after President Joe Biden called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” on Wednesday. This is seen as undermining efforts by both sides to rekindle relations between the United States and the world’s second-largest economy.
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