In this file photo the fearless girl statue and the New York Stock Exchange are pictured on April 20, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. — AFP picNEW YORK, March 5 — Wall Street slumped yesterday and global stock markets declined after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell repeated his pledge to keep credit flowing until Americans are back to work, rebutting investors who have openly doubted he can stick to that promise once the pandemic passes.
With Covid-19 vaccines rolling out and the government fiscal taps open “there is good reason to think we will make more progress soon” toward the Fed’s goals of maximum employment and 2 per cent sustained inflation, Powell told aThe Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 345.95 points, or 1.11 per cent, to 30,924.14, the S&P 500 lost 51.25 points, or 1.34 per cent, to 3,768.47 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.28 points, or 2.11 per cent, to 12,723.47.
Emerging market stocks lost 2.61 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 2.63 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.13 per cent to its lowest since February 5.Powell said the increase was “notable” but he did not consider it a “disorderly” move, or one that pushed long-term rates so high the Fed might have to intervene to bring them down.
The 10-year UK Gilts yield was last at 0.733 per cent, after touching 0.775 per cent on Wednesday, near last week’s 11-month high of 0.836 per cent.
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