Wall Street declines as Fed eyes taper

Wall Street ended the day lower on Wednesday, after meeting minutes showed US Federal Reserve officials split on when to ease back on economic stimulus, while COVID-19’s spread weighed on oil for the fifth straight day.

Wall Street hit new lows following the release of the minutes, which detailed the Fed’s July 27-28 policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) ended the day down 1.07 per cent, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 1.07 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) fell 0.89 per cent. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 45 nations, fell 0.58 per cent.

The minutes fleshed out the Fed’s thinking on when to taper its monthly bond purchases, and showed that Fed officials expected it is possible they could ease that stimulus this year if the economy continues to improve as expected.

However, the minutes showed officials noted that the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant could temporarily delay the full reopening of the economy and restrain a jobs market that looms large in the Fed’s thinking.

The ongoing spread of COVID-19 cases continued to weigh down crude, which fell for the fifth straight day on concerns of diminishing travel demand.