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* Macy's jumps after reporting upbeat Q4 same-store sales
* Comcast offers to buy Sky for
* Indexes down: Dow 0.5 pct, S&P 0.7 pct, Nasdaq 0.7 pct(Updates to late afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
The comments boosted bets the central bank would squeeze ina fourth rate hike this year.
In his prepared remarks, Powell hinted that the central bankwould stick to its current path of gradual rate hikes, but hiscomments during congressional testimony seemed to spook themarket.
"He said it's his impression the economy was gettingstronger, which subtly gave the indication that he was going toraise his personal forecast for four rate hikes this year," saidMichael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in
The Fed is widely expected to raise rates next month and inDecember signaled a total of three rate hikes this year. Fedofficials will release new forecasts, including their views onthe appropriate future path of rate hikes, when they meet nextmonth.
Powell's first semi-annual economic testimony as Fed chiefbefore the
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134.9 points,or 0.52 percent, to 25,574.37, the S&P 500 lost 18.17points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,761.43 and the Nasdaq Compositedropped 49.14 points, or 0.66 percent, to 7,372.32.
Bond yields also rose, with the benchmark
"Sure enough, rates here have moved up a little bit as well,probably a little bit more so here based on his testimony, but Idon't think we are in a danger zone or anything of a spike inrate hikes by the Fed," said Mark Kepner, managing director,sales and trading in
Comcast fell 6.3 percent after the
The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Disneydropped 4.1 percent and Twenty-First Century Foxfell 2.9 percent following the news.
Macy's rose 4.2 percent after reportinghigher-than-expected same-store sales growth for the fourthquarter. The biggest
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a2.38-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.34-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 44 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; theNasdaq Composite recorded 90 new highs and 44 new lows.
(Additional reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Parikshit Mishra inBengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)
