Wall St drifts further lower
Federal Reserve said US industrial production, which covers manufacturing, mining and utilities, fell in Dec much more than economists expected
image for illustrative purpose
New York: Wall Street drifted lower in premarket trading Thursday, extending the largest single-day retreat of the year Wednesday after new economic data heightening worries about the possibility of a recession.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slid 0.8% before the opening bell. The US government reported Wednesday that Americans cut back on their retail spending more than anticipated in December, the second consecutive monthly decline.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production, which covers manufacturing, mining and utilities, fell in December much more than economists had expected. On the other hand whole sale prices, goods bought and sold before they reach the consumer, fell for the sixth consecutive month, though those prices rose 6.2% in December from a year earlier.
Investors have been hoping that easing inflation and a slowdown in economic growth might influence the Federal Reserve's position on interest rates. The central bank aggressively raised rates throughout 2022 in an effort to cool hot inflation. But a key Federal Reserve policymaker said interest rates need to go higher than the central bank signalled earlier.
"On the macro front, there remains lingering uncertainties about the outlook for the global economy," said Anderson Alves, trader at ActivTrades. "A slew of disappointing U.S. data releases and hawkish Fed rhetoric are also adding to the risk-off mood across markets."
The broader economic picture is still not clear enough to see whether the Fed's fight against inflation is working well enough to avoid a recession. Many companies have been reporting lower profit margins as consumers pull back on their spending.
