U.S. stocks slid lower to bring an end to what was a mixed week while bonds stabilized as investors await the Federal Reserve’s annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to get further guidance on the central bank’s interest rate policy going forward. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak on Friday.
The S&P 500 index fell 0.01% and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week higher by 0.08%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell slightly to 4.255% after hurtling toward a 16-year high earlier in the week. Investors now expect the Fed to hold interest rates higher for longer.
Oil prices rose on Friday yet continued to post a weekly decline, bringing an end to a seven-week winning streak. U.S. crude rose 1.13% to $81.30 per barrel while Brent crude gained 0.77% to $84.85 per barrel. Despite the 0.16% decline of the dollar index on Friday, the dollar remains on course for its fifth straight weekly rise.