Dow tumbles 483 points as economic data strengthens the case for more Fed hawkishness

Advertisement
Dow tumbles 483 points as economic data strengthens the case for more Fed hawkishness
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
  • The Dow fell almost 500 points as traders flinched at new data that made a case for the Fed to stay hawkish.
  • ISM services sector data for November turned higher, and factory orders increased in October.
Advertisement

US stocks closed lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by over 500 points after new data helped ramp up concerns that the Federal Reserve will stick to its hawkish policy path at next week's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Survey data from the Institution of Supply Management showed that services sector activity picked up last month, with a reading of 56.5, up from 54.4 in October. Meanwhile, data from the Commerce Department showed that factory orders were up 1% in October, beating expectations for an increase of 0.7%.

The readings compound fears that the US economy is not cooling off very quickly even after a year of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed. The expectation for next week's Fed meeting is still for the central bank to raise rates by a smaller 50 basis-points, but there is a possibility that rates will remain higher for longer.

Deutsche Bank analysts Monday warned that the Fed would remain aggressive as inflation has the potential to surprise to the upside, while former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told Bloomberg that he believes interest rates are going to end up being a lot higher than markets expect.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 4 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

Advertisement

Here's what else happened today:

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

  • Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 3.3% to $77.31 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, fell 3% to $82.98 a barrel.
  • Gold slipped 1.6% to $1,780 per ounce.
  • The 10-year Treasury yield rose nine basis points to 3.60%. The two-year bond ticked up to 4.41%.
  • Bitcoin edged lower to $16,945.
{{}}