Guesswork about monetary policy unsettles US investors – Wall Street closes in the red

Frankfurt Investors held back on Wall Street on Thursday due to uncertainty about the future pace of rate hikes by the Fed. The Dow Jones lost 1.2 percent to 29,927 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.7 percent to 11,073 points. The S&P 500 lost about one percent to 3744 points.

Stockbrokers rated the initial applications for US unemployment benefits positively, which were slightly higher than expected. However, the ADP payrolls report gave no indication of a possible easing of monetary policy and the Fed’s further strategy remains largely open until official US payrolls data is released on Friday.

“Today’s trading day provides a foretaste of what could happen to investors in even greater form tomorrow after the publication of the US labor market data,” said analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from the online broker CMC Markets. “A change of heart by the US Federal Reserve appears to be wishful thinking on the part of investors at the moment.”