Wall Street fall slightly as investors wait for Federal Reserve

Stocks

The market continues to remain in a narrow range of gains and losses for the past couple of weeks, as investors look for any sort of understanding of where the U.S. economy is headed with the widespread delta variant of the coronavirus.

Associated Press

September 08, 2021 / 08:23 PM IST

Stocks were edging lower in early trading Wednesday as investors remain on the sidelines until they get more guidance from the Federal Reserve as well as the direction of the coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 index was down 0.1% as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% as well and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.3%. Most of the market was moving lower, with exception of lower-risk sectors like makers of consumer staples and utilities.

Shares of cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase fell 3% after the company disclosed it was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its plans to offer its cryptocurrency holders a chance to earn interest on their assets if they lent them out.

The market continues to remain in a narrow range of gains and losses for the past couple of weeks, as investors look for any sort of understanding of where the U.S. economy is headed with the widespread delta variant of the coronavirus.

On Tuesday, U.S. traders returned from the Labor Day holiday weekend to a relatively light week of economic data, after the last big economic snapshot, the August jobs report, came in weaker than expected last Friday.

Investors will get some new information from the Federal Reserve later Wednesday when the central bank releases its “Beige Book” survey of regional economic conditions. The collection of anecdotal economic data and observances is used by policymakers to help them decide how to move interest rates and, more importantly, decide whether to end the bank’s bond-buying program that’s existed since the pandemic started.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.35% after rising sharply on Tuesday to 1.37%.

Associated Press