Wall Street stocks slipped early Friday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that the US central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index retreated 0.7 percent to 5,906.46, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 1.3 percent to 18,861.20.
The losses came a day after Powell said that US economic growth remained resilient while inflation, though running closer to the central bank’s target, had not reached it just yet.
Powell delivered a “rather deliberate message to the market” that a further rate reduction in December might not be forthcoming, said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.
Following his comments, the yield on the 10-year and two-year US Treasury notes climbed higher on Friday.
Analysts on Friday also took in retail sales figures that — while still solid — were held back by fallout from devastating hurricanes.
Meanwhile, industrial production declined again in October by 0.3 percent, with output held down by a worker strike at an aircraft manufacturer.
