Ahead of FOMC Minutes Release, New York Stock Market Shows Weakness (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The major indices of the New York stock market closed lower. Although the decline narrowed somewhat compared to the opening, caution remains regarding the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting to be released this week.

On the 17th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.34 points (0.16%) to 34,327.79, the S&P 500 index dropped 10.56 points (0.25%) to 4,163.29, and the Nasdaq index, the center of attention, fell 50.93 points (0.38%) to 13,379.05.

Before the market opened, telecom company AT&T announced a merger of its content division WarnerMedia with cable TV channel operator Discovery, but its stock price fell 2.7%. Discovery's stock also dropped more than 5%.

Tesla's stock price fell 2.1% following the decline in Bitcoin prices and news that Michael Burry, the real-life protagonist of the movie "The Big Short," bet on Tesla's stock price decline.

The market is focusing on the FOMC minutes to be released on the 19th, as there may be hints about tapering asset purchases and normalizing interest rates.

On the same day, Raphael Bostic, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, reiterated in an interview with CNBC that very accommodative policies must be maintained until significant progress is made.

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida also said that the US economic growth rate could reach 7% this year, but he forecasted, "The April employment report was disappointing, and there are still deep holes in the labor market. It may take longer for the economy to reopen." Vice Chairman Clarida also continued to argue that inflation is temporary.

On the day, the US 10-year Treasury yield remained at a similar level to the previous week at 1.652%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.