Wall Street closes lower in volatile session after Fed minutes

The S&P 500 closed a choppy session slightly lower on Wednesday, after the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting (Fed) showed that those responsible for monetary policy agreed that they should maintain a restrictive bias.

The minutes of the September meeting showed that many authorities in the Fed they underscored the cost of not doing enough to reduce inflation.

At the September meeting, officials from the Fed raised interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point for the third consecutive time, in an effort to reduce inflation from 40-year highs.

Recently, officials of the Federal Reserve they have spoken in their speeches “in unison on the Fed’s commitment to reduce inflation and stay the course,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.

“Now it is understood that the Fed is going to go ahead. The question for the market is where is the transition from 75 basis points to 50 and 25. I think the market is focused on that.”

Today’s data showed an increase in producer prices in September. The index rose 8.5% in the 12 months to September, slightly above the estimated 8.4% rise. Still, it was down from 8.7% in August.

The S&P 500 lost 11.81 points, or 0.33%, to finish at 3,577.03 units, while the Nasdaq it fell 9.09 points, or 0.09%, to 10,417.1 units. The Dow Jones Industrial Average it fell 28.34 points, or 0.10%, to 29,210.85.

Investors are increasingly concerned that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes could push the world’s largest economy into recession.

Thursday’s consumer price data is likely to be key for investors, along with the start of third-quarter earnings reports, which kick off with results from the big banks on Friday.

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