Thursday, 19 March 2015 21:09
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks moved mostly lower early Thursday as the dollar bounced back after a dovish Federal Reserve policy announcement hit the greenback in the prior session
About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,995.43, down 80.76 points (0.45 percent).
The broad-based S&P dropped 7.26 (0.35 percent) to 2,092.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 5.63 (0.11 percent) to 4,988.45.
US stocks pulled back after Wednesday’s rally, which was sparked by a dovish turn by the Federal Reserve on the expected pace of interest rate increases over the next year.
The euro, which surged Wednesday, fell back to $ 1.0654 from $ 1.0871.
Retail chain Target dropped 0.5 percent following reports it will boost wages of all workers to at least $ 9 an hour, following similar moves by Wal-Mart Stores and others.
Williams-Sonoma, which specializes in kitchen appliances and utensils, dropped 2.0 percent after disclosing that the port slowdown along the US West Coast would drag down 2015 earnings by 10-12 cents per share.
Offshore driller Transocean dropped 4.7 percent after announcing it would scrap four rigs, resulting in a charge of $ 300-$ 325 million. The move comes as low oil prices depress oilfield investment.
Homebuilder Lennar gained 0.8 percent as first-quarter earnings rose 47.2 percent to $ 115 million. The company said it was encouraged about the housing market in the upcoming period.
Apple was unchanged in its first day as a member of the blue-chip Dow index.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.94 percent from 1.92 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.52 percent from 2.51 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015
