Points and Index

dow: How are the major benchmarks faring The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.05% closed down 334 points, or 1.2%, at 26,864 while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.90% shed 32 points, or 1.1% to 2,980, according to Market Watch. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.79% lost 98 points, or 1.2% to 8,175. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.05% sank to a triple-digit loss, its biggest one day fall since May 31. On Tuesday, the Dow closed down 23.33 points, or 0.1%, at 27,198.02, while the S&P 500 index fell 7.79 points, or 0.3%, to 3,013.18 and the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 19.71 points to 8,273.61, a slump of 0.2%. On the last day of July, the Dow Jones index is up 15% for the year-to-date, the S&P 500 index up 18% and the Nasdaq up 23%. What's driving the market Investors were widely expecting a 0.25% cut in the federal funds rate but some were disappointed the Fed didn't lower interest rates by more than a quarter point, or clearly signal that further rate cuts were on the way. The FOMC statement does not suggest a Committee committed to additional cuts, UBS economist, Seth Carpenter said. At his press conference, Fed chair Jerome Powell added that the Fed has moved to a somewhat more accommodative stance as part of a mid-cycle adjustment as trade tensions seem to be having a significant effect on the economy and the global manufacturing slowdown is a bigger factor than expected last year . But Powell's comment that Wednesday's rate cut was part of a mid-cycle adjustment and not necessarily the start of a monetary easing cycle disappointed investors who had priced in further rate cuts later this year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.