Major US stock indexes finished trading in negative territory

The main US stock indexes have moderately decreased, the reason for this was the fall in the shares of the health sector, as well as the results of the May meeting of the Fed.

As a result of a two-day meeting, the US Federal Reserve, as expected, left the key interest rate in the range of 1.5% -1.75%. In the accompanying statement, the Central Bank noted a slowdown in household spending compared to the high rate of the fourth quarter, but pointed to the continued strong growth of companies' investments in fixed assets. Also, the Fed noted a strong increase in the number of jobs. Meanwhile, this time the Fed did not begin to declare that "it closely follows the dynamics of inflation." This change reflects an increase in inflationary pressures in the United States. In addition, the Fed noted that the annual inflation approached the target level of the Central Bank, which is 2%. In general, the Fed's rhetoric allows investors to count on raising rates during the June meeting.

A certain influence on the course of trading also provided statistics on the United States. As shown by data from Automatic Data Processing (ADP), the growth rate of employment in the private sector of the US slowed in March, and almost coincided with the forecasts. According to the report, in April the number of employed increased by 204 thousand people compared with the figure for March at 241 thousand. Analysts had expected that the number of employed will increase by 200 thousand.

Most DOW components recorded a decline (24 out of 30). Outsider were the shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, -2.58%). The leader of growth was the shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL, + 4.38%).

Almost all sectors of S & P finished trading in the red. The health sector showed the greatest decline (-1.1%). Only the base materials sector grew (+ 0.1%).

At closing:

Dow 23,924.98 -174.07 -0.72%

S&P 500 2,635.67 -19.13 -0.72%

Nasdaq 100 7,100.90 -29.81 -0.42%