Categories: U.S. Investing

U.S. Stocks Drop to One-Month Low as Economic Data May Push Fed to Taper

Andreas Poike

U.S. Stocks Drop to One-Month Low as Economic Data May Push Fed to Taper (Bloomberg)

U.S. stocks fell a third day, dropping the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a one-month low, as improving economic data heightened speculation the Federal Reserve could cut stimulus as soon as next week. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 1,775.50 at 4 p.m. in New York, extending a three-day drop to 1.8 percent after closing at a record on Dec. 9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 104.10 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,739.43, also a one-month low. About 6.3 billion shares traded on U.S. exchanges, roughly 3.3 percent above the three-month average. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 1.1 percent yesterday after a federal budget deal fueled concern that the Fed may start tapering its bond buying earlier than forecast. Today, Oracle Corp. fell 2.8 percent after RBC Capital Markets LLC cut its rating on the stock. Lululemon Athletica Inc. plunged 12 percent after projecting fourth-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates. Facebook Inc. rose 5 percent as S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the stock will join the S&P 500 next week.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.