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US stocks close lower after Fed minutes
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Top Stories |
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IANS | 22 Feb, 2018
US stocks closed lower as investors awaited the release of a meeting minute from the Federal Reserve.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday lost 166.97 points, or 0.67
per cent, to 24,797.78. The S&P 500 decreased 14.93 points, or 0.55
per cent, to 2,701.33, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 16.08 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 7,218.23.
The
US central bank released the minutes from its January meeting on
Wednesday. According to the minutes, the Fed officials see increased
economic growth and an uptick in inflation as justification to continue
to raise interest rates gradually.
After the news came out, the
US 10-year Treasury yield spiked to as high as 2.956 per cent. Major
stock indices rose sharply with the Dow jumping more than 300 points
before paring gains completely.
On the economic front, US
manufacturers reported a strong upturn in business conditions during
February, which continued the positive trend seen at the start of this
year.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Flash US Manufacturing
Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 55.9 in February from January's
53.8, the fastest improvement in overall business conditions since
October 2014.
Meanwhile, US home sales fell unexpectedly for a
second consecutive month in January and experienced their largest
decline on an annual basis over three years, according to the National
Association of Realtors on Wednesday. All major regions saw monthly and
annual sales declines last month.
The association said the
existing home sales dropped 3.2 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of 5.38 million units last month.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
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75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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