US stocks dip as Fed minutes suggest more rate hikes ahead

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks dipped Wednesday as US Treasury bond yields pushed higher and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting signaled the possibility of more interest rate hikes ahead.
While the

Fed

voted last month to pause rate increases after 10 consecutive hikes, the Fed meeting minutes showed that policymakers believe two likely hikes will be needed in 2023 to bring inflation back down.
“Almost all officials expected additional rate hikes this year,” said a note from Oxford Economics. “The hawkish wing of the Fed is making the most noise, suggesting that the Fed isn’t done tightening monetary policy.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4 percent to 34,288.64.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent at 4,446.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also declined 0.3 percent to 13,791.65.
After a strong second quarter, stocks have been choppy thus far at the start of July.
Major indices were in the red most of the day as bond yields climbed, suggesting investors expect more interest rate increases.
General Motors climbed 1.2 percent after reporting a 19 percent jump in second-quarter US car deliveries amid continued strong consumer demand and improved car inventories.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms rose 2.9 percent as it prepared to launch Threads, a new app that has been described as a competing service to Twitter.
UPS fell 2.0 percent after labor negotiations with the Teamsters broke down, raising the possibility of a strike next month.
UPS called for the union, which has been organizing rallies with workers demanding better pay and benefits, to “return to the table to finalize this deal.”
Leading semiconductor shares were under pressure, including Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology and Intel. All fell 1.6 percent or more.