Wall Street stumbled to a third straight loss on Thursday as U.S. stocks gave back more of their big gains for the year so far.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and marked its longest losing streak in more than a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 173 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.5%. All three indexes are still near their records set at the start of the week, though.
Stocks felt pressure from reports showing the U.S. economy may be stronger than economists thought. While that’s encouraging news for workers and for people looking for jobs, it could make the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates several times in the coming months.
The Fed just delivered its first cut of the year last week, and officials had penciled in more through the end of next year. That was critical for Wall Street after U.S. stocks shot to records since April in large part because of expectations for rate cuts. Easier rates can boost the economy and make investors more willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments.
But a stronger-than-expected economy could remove some of the Fed’s urgency, particularly because cuts to rates carry the risk of worsening inflation that’s already stubbornly high. If the Fed doesn’t cut rates as often as investors expect, it would empower criticism that the U.S. stock market is too expensive after rising so much, so quickly.
