U.S. “cockroach week in a row, a report indicating that the greatest increase in import prices since 1990, reinforced fears that the Federal Reserve continues raising interest rates against inflation.Part of the most sensitive to changing costs of the facilities, programs and services homebuilders paced the retreat. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after his bad start, fourth since July 2002.
“ People are very cautious and you have some things against the market at this time,’’said Bart Barnett, Head of Equity Trading at Morgan Keegan & Co. in Memphis, Tennessee. “ You have a warmongering Fed and rising energy prices.”
The S & P 500 lost 3.85 or 0.3 percent to 1173.83 from 2:10 am in New York. A declining share of General Motors Corp. helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average definition of 19.78 or 0.2 percent to 10197.13. The Nasdaq composite index rose 2.71 or 0.1 percent to 2040.18.
The S & P 500 each day in October, with one exception, withdrawing from 4.6 per cent this month and its lowest level since May. The benchmark is down 6.9 percent for the first nine trading days of the third quarter of 2002.
About three stocks fell for all that, past the New York Stock Exchange. About 1.1 billion shares have changed in the Big Board, 12 per cent less than the same period a week ago.
The import price
Prices of goods imported to the USA increased by 2.3 per cent in September, led by higher energy prices. Without oil, import prices rose by 1.2 per cent, said the ministry laboratory, the largest increase since registration began in January 1989. Prices were expected to increase by 1 percent, after a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
Another report tomorrow May showed that prices paid by consumers rose last month by most of 15 years because of rising energy costs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Consumer prices rose 0.9 percent, economists estimate.
Investors focus on inflation and “ looks at the intervention of officials from the Fed,’’said Rick Jones, managing, using $ 16 billion in assets in BB & T Asset Management Inc. in Raleigh , North Carolina. “ And the data pointed out that this is a problem that people need to think.”
The trade deficit expanded to $ 59 billion in August as record oil prices have created imports increase. The gap was the third in recording, the Commerce Department said. Economists expect a deficit of 59.5 billion dollars.