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U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after a better-than-expected employee cost index.
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Quarterly indicators showed higher wages and labor costs, increasing pressure on the Fed.
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The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee begins its meeting on Tuesday.
U.S. stock markets fell on Tuesday as strong labor data fueled new expectations that the Federal Reserve will remain hawkish on monetary policy.
The employee cost index, a quarterly measure of wages and benefits, rose 1.2%, beating expectations for a 1% acceleration. That’s well above the 0.9% increase seen in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.
The index was also included in a number of inflation reports released this year, putting a damper on previous expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates soon.
Tuesday marks the start of the central bank’s policy meeting, with investors looking for insight on future rate cuts from a press conference that follows on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, revenue continues to flow in, with major companies such as Amazon and Apple scheduled to report this week. In Tuesday’s action, missed expectations hurt McDonald’s stock.
Here are the U.S. indices as of the 9:30 a.m. opening bell Tuesday:
Here’s what else is happening today:
In Commodities, Fixed Income and Cryptocurrencies:
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West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.69% to $83.04 per barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude oil fell 0.93% to $87.56 per barrel.
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Gold fell 1.24% to $2,305.82 per ounce.
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The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 4.674%.
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Bitcoin fell 1% to $62,955.
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