Stock Market News: Dow Turns Higher After Dovish Comments From Fed's Waller
The Dow’s afternoon gains faded as a volatile session for the stock market rolled on.
The blue-chip index was down 18 points, or less than 0.4%, after trading higher. The S&P 500 was down 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5%.
The major indexes were grappling with mixed comments from Federal Reserve officials and the many quirks of a triple-witching day.
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller this afternoon was upbeat about the central bank’s progress on inflation, which contrasted with hawkish comments from Gov. Michelle Bowman.
Bowman dissented against the central bank’s half-point rate cut, favoring a quarter-point cut instead. “I see the risk that the committee’s larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate,” Bowman said in a statement.
It’s also the third Friday of September, which is one of the quarterly triple-witching days. Stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire on the same day, which generally adds to market volatility. That could explain today’s wild moves.