Economy
CLOSING BELL: September 12th: DJIA: 13,333.35 | UP 9.99 | +0.07%
OIL: $96.86, DOWN 0.31, -0.32%
GOLD: $1,734.70, DOWN 0.20, -0.01%
GASOLINE (US Avg): $3.858, UP .015
Wall Street ends flat as Fed wait nears an end
Wanfeng Zhou, Reuters - Wall Street ended little changed on Wednesday, erasing early gains, as investors turned cautious before a Federal Reserve decision on another round of monetary stimulus to boost the economy.
Stocks got a lift early after Germany’s Constitutional Court approved the new euro zone rescue fund, which will allow the European Central Bank to buy sovereign bonds in an effort to reduce crippling borrowing costs faced by Spain and Italy.
But the gains faded as investors shifted their attention to the Fed, which concludes a two-day meeting on Thursday. Equities have rallied on expectations of more Fed action to keep interest rates low, leading some analysts to warn of disappointment.
Economists put the odds of a third round of bond buying from the Fed at 65 percent, up from 60 percent in August, according to a Reuters poll.
“The market is somewhat nervous ahead of tomorrow’s Fed decision, and rightfully so,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York, who believes the Fed will not begin another round of stimulus until after November’s presidential election.
“We could be setting ourselves up here for a quick 2 to 4 percent correction.”
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI closed up 9.99 points, or 0.07 percent, to 13,333.35. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX ended up 3.00 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,436.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 9.79 points, or 0.32 percent, to 3,114.31.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) shares were up 1.39 percent to $669.79 after it unveiled its iPhone 5. The introduction of the new iPhone comes as Apple tries to fend off competition that has reached a fever pitch.
Facebook Inc (FB.O) jumped 7.7 percent to $20.93 after Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg hinted at new growth areas from mobile to search in his first major public appearance since the No. 1 social network’s rocky IPO in May.
Read the rest of this article at Reuters here.
The Common Good publishes a financial market wrap-up every weekday after markets close, available here.
