- US stocks were down on Monday after Fed Chair Powell downplayed the idea rate cuts are imminent.
- Powell told "60 Minutes" that regarding inflation: "the job is not quite done."
- He said it would be prudent to "give it some time" to confirm inflation is moving in the right direction.
US stocks edged lower on Monday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told "60 Minutes" on Sunday that the central bank's key task in reigning in inflation is not yet done.
Powell said cutting interest rates too soon poses a risk because "the job is not quite done" in taming inflation.
"The prudent thing to do is to, is to just give it some time and see that the data continue to confirm that inflation is moving down to 2% in a sustainable way," Powell said.
Those comments dashed investor hopes of an interest rate cut at the Fed's March meeting, with the probability of a rate cut falling to 17.5% on Monday from nearly 50% last week, according to the CME Fed Watch Tool.
Corporate earnings continue to roll in, with about half of S&P 500 companies having reported results. Of the 231 companies that have reported so far, 81% are beating profit estimates by a median of 7%, according to data from Fundstrat.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 4,946.40, down 0.24%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 38,519.36, down 0.35% (-135.74 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 15,593.09, down 0.23%
Here's what else is going on today:
- Chinese stocks dropped in a volatile session of trades after the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Sunday it would prevent "abnormal market fluctuations."
- Chinese investors aren't just worried about China's faltering economy — they're also fretting about Donald Trump's potential return to the White House, according to Goldman Sachs.
- Jeff Bezos is just $8 billion away from overtaking Elon Musk to become the world's wealthiest person after the sharp decline in Tesla stock this year.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.19% to $72.14 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.08% to $77.39 a barrel.
- Gold declined 0.90% to $2,035.30 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield surged 10 basis points to 4.13%.
- Bitcoin climbed 1.61% to $43,257.