NEW YORK, May 13 — Wall Street stocks fell early today as the Federal Reserve chief said more fiscal support may be needed to prevent lasting damage to the US economy from the coronavirus crisis.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 23,563.20, down 0.9 per cent.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.6 per cent to 2,852.64, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.1 per cent to 8,995.46.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to the hit to households from elevated unemployment and the permanent loss of small businesses as among the imperatives that could require Congress to spend beyond the US$3 trillion (RM13 trillion) already approved in response to the Covid-19 hit.
“Additional fiscal support could be costly, but worth it if it helps avoid long-term economic damage and leaves us with a stronger recovery,” Powell said in a speech to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
“This tradeoff is one for our elected representatives, who wield powers of taxation and spending.”
The market’s early losses added to the weakness in stocks yesterday, when the Nasdaq snapped a six-day winning streak and finished lower.
Analysts have also expressed concerns about excessive equity valuations, elevated US-China tensions and extensions of stay-at-home orders in major economies due to the coronavirus. — AFP