Total 7 of 11 major S&P sectors ended the session higher, with utilities (up 2.4%), healthcare (up 2.2%), and real estate (up 2%0 issues enjoyed the largest percentage gains, while energy (down 3.7%) and materials (down 1.4%) issues suffered the largest percentage losses.
Investors turned to healthcare, consumer staples, real estate and utilities companies to mitigate their risks if the economy falls into recession.
Investors feared that economic growth and corporate profits could come under pressure, following the largest interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in nearly three decades, with the Ukraine war and the supply chain problems adding to the woes.
Investors also kept an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's before the House Financial Services Committee, with the Fed chief reiterating his commitment to moving expeditiously to bring inflation back down.
The Fed's plans to aggressively raise interest rates to combat inflation has led to concerns tighter monetary policy will tip the economy into a recession. Powell has acknowledged that achieving a "soft landing" will be "very challenging" due in part to factors outside of the Fed's control and noted a recession is "certainly a possibility."
ECONOMIC NEWS: Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims dipped to 229,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level of 231,000.
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Among Indian ADR, Tata Motors fell 2.8% to $25.36, INFOSYS added 0.7% to $18.44, ICICI Bank added 1.5% to $17.90, HDFC Bank added 1.7% to $56.57, Dr Reddy's Labs inclined 0.6% to $55, and Wipro added 1.7% to $5.42. WNS Holdings added 2.1% to $73.25. Azure Power Global surged 30% to $13.83.
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