U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its policy meeting in May.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.58%, or 245 points, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ composite indexes fell by 0.56% and 0.51%, respectively. The central bank minutes showed a cautious approach to monetary policy and warned of “difficult trade-offs” if inflation continues.
“Participants agreed that it would be appropriate to take a careful approach until uncertainty about the economic outlook increases further and the arrangement of changes to government policies is clearer.” “Participants noted that if inflation is found to be more sustainable while growth and employment outlook weakens, the committee could face difficult trade-offs.”
In trade negotiations, US President Donald Trump opposed references to the president’s tendency to expel chickens and delay tariff implementation. Trump said his tactics are part of the negotiation strategy, and trade partners like the European Union are eager to reach the deal.
Meanwhile, strong revenue from major retailers indicates that consumer spending remains strong. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. stocks won 14% after the company reported strong results for the first quarter, induced full-year net sales growth of 3% to 6%. Meanwhile, HP’s stock fell 15% after losing profit expectations and issued a disappointing outlook due to “additional costs” from tariffs.
Nvidia’s stock moved higher in expanded trading after posting top-line and bottom-line beats. The company reported an EPS of 96 cents on revenue of $44.06 billion, surpassing its estimate of 93 cents per share, at $433.1 billion. Datacenter revenues rose 73% year-on-year, but the company missed out on $2.5 billion in revenue due to China-bound chip export restrictions. The total quarter margin was 61%, which was 71.3% without new China-related fees.