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- US stocks fell on Thursday, ending the S&P 500's eight day winning streak.
- Treasury yields jumped after poor results of a 30-year bond auction and hawkish comments from Jerome Powell.
- "If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so," Powell said.
US stocks declined on Thursday, effectively ending the S&P 500's eight day win streak that delivered a gain of more than 6%.
Stocks were initially higher in morning trades, but poor results of a 30-year Treasury bond auction sent yields surging and stock prices falling. The decline in stocks further accelerated after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made hawkish comments during a panel discussion at an International Monetary Fund conference.
"If it becomes appropriate to tighten policy further, we will not hesitate to do so," Powell said, adding that the Fed will show caution in making sure it is not "misled" by a few good months of inflation data.
Powell also said that "we are not confident that we have achieved such a stance" in tightening monetary policy to reach its long-term inflation target of 2%. The hawkish comments from Powell slightly increased the chance of a 25 basis point interest rate hike next month to 15% from 10% on Wednesday.
But LPL Economist Jeff Roach told Insider that next week's inflation data "should provide some salve for the markets as headline inflation will likely be soft from easing energy prices."
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 4,347.32, down 0.81%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,891.68, down 0.65% (+220.59 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 13,521.45, down 0.94%
Here's what else happened today:
- Billionaire investor Ken Griffin said high inflation may linger for decades with wars set to usher in an era of deglobalization.
- Russia says it's no longer scared of Western sanctions, but its economy is still under pressure amid a battered ruble and plunging exports.
- A "Black Swan" investor warned of the biggest debt bubble in history - and predicted the Fed's efforts will end in disaster.
- Charlie Munger said investors need to own stocks like Apple and Alphabet, or they risk being left behind.
- Warren Buffett reportedly traded millions of dollars worth of stocks that Berkshire Hathaway was also buying and selling.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 0.31% to $75.56 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.40% to $79.86 a barrel.
- Gold jumped 0.27% to $1,963.00 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rose 13 basis points to 4.63%.
- Bitcoin jumped 2.17% to $36,412.