NEW YORK, Aug 30 — Wall Street wavered and the dollar extended its losses today, as a slew of disappointing economic data raised the probability that the Federal Reserve will press the pause button in its efforts to rein in inflation.
Ironically, weak economic data could be good news for interest rates, as it could give the Federal Reserve a rationale for letting key interest rates stand at next month’s monetary policy meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.16 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 34,847.51, the S&P 500 gained 6.28 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 4,503.91 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.32 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 13,976.08.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.15 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.46 per cent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.33 per cent. Benchmark 10-year notes last rose 3/32 in price to yield 4.11 per cent, from 4.122 per cent late on Tuesday.