US stocks fall after FED meeting

U.S. stocks fell again on Wednesday, marking their 7th decline over the past 12 trading sessions.

While many have attributed this latest sell-off as the “garden variety” type that usually accompanies such steep run-ups as the one we have seen since the beginning of the second quarter, much of the discussion today centred around the details that were released as part of the Fed minutes from July’s meeting of U.S. central bankers.

The Fed minutes revealed that several Federal Reserve officials are still concerned that with inflation remaining well above its target levels and a strong jobs market that further interest rate hikes may be yet to come.

That news spooked markets and sent Treasury yields higher as many had believed that the worst was over as far as interest rates are concerned and that markets were coming due for what many had hoped would be a “soft landing”.

If rates stay higher for longer, or even rise further from their already heightened levels it could mean more selling to come for equity market investors.

Meanwhile, Nvidia is slated to report its second-quarter results next week after the closing bell on August 23rd.  With the latest AI technologies having captured the imagination of investors of late, if the leading AI chipmaker were able to deliver a strong earnings number it could be enough to give a lift to the tech sector and help the broader market get a rise out of this latest dip.