U.S. stock index futures were lower on Sunday after Wall Street sank on Friday following hawkish comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the fight against stubborn inflation would continue and be painful.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
fell more than 200 points, or 0.7%, immediately on Sunday, while S&P 500 futures
ES00,
and Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
dove about 1% each.
Speaking Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell said the Fed was committed to taming inflation, which is at a 40-year high. “While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will reduce inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” he said. He added that the Fed has “an overarching focus right now on getting inflation back to our 2% target.”
Powell also left the door open to raising interest rates by 75 basis points in September, even if the next inflation report is softer than expected.
This disappointed Wall Street, which held out hope for a low-test “Fed pilot.”
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
fell 1,008.38 points, or 3%, to close at 32,283.40, its biggest percentage drop since May 18. S&P 500
SPX,
fell 141.46 points, or 3.4%, to end at 4,057.66, its biggest percentage decline since June 13, and the Nasdaq Composite
comp,
fell 497.56 points, or 3.9%, to end at 12,141.71, in its biggest percentage decline since June 16.
Powell’s comments also sent cryptocurrencies crashing, along with Bitcoin
BTC USD,
falls below $20,000 for the first time in about a month.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices
CL.1,
fell slightly to around $92.67 a barrel on Sunday night.