Most US stock indices declined on Monday as markets assess the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates.
The Fed decided to maintain interest rates unchanged last week at 5.5% for the fifth time in a row.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell asserted that policymakers are preparing for rate cuts this year, with markets estimating a 68.3% chance of such a cut at the June policy meeting.
Later today, the personal spending index will be released later today, which is the Fed’s favorite inflation index, with expectations of a 0.3% increase last month, following a 0.4% increase in January.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.3%, or 113 points as of 16:15 GMT to 39,362, while S&P 500 fell 0.2%, or 9 points to 5,225, as NASDAQ slid 0.2%, or 25 points to 16,404.