By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks turned lower and the Treasury yield curve steepened in volatile trading on Friday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that inflation remains well above the Fed’s target, and as reports emerged that U.S. debt ceiling talks have stalled.
All three major U.S. stock indexes turned red as Powell said the central bank has not made any decisions about whether rates are “sufficiently restrictive” to tame inflation.
Adding to market volatility, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told bank CEOs that more mergers may be necessary to stanche the banking liquidity crisis, according to CNN.
Multiple reports that talks between the White House and House Republican lawmakers to raise the debt limit were put on pause, reviving fears over a possible U.S. default.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.74 points, or 0.27%, to 33,445.17, the S&P 500 lost 4.4 points, or 0.10%, to 4,193.65 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.92 points, or 0.17%, to 12,666.92.
Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 5/32 in price to yield 3.6669%, from 3.648% late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond last fell 16/32 in price to yield 3.9299%, from 3.901% late on Thursday.
The dollar index fell 0.48%, with the euro up 0.43% to $1.0815.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.76% versus the greenback at 137.69 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2462, up 0.44% on the day.
U.S. crude fell 0.36% to $71.60 per barrel and Brent was last at $75.40, down 0.61% on the day.
Spot gold added 0.8% to $1,974.59 an ounce.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Naomi Rovnick and Ankur Banarjee; editing by Mark Heinrich and Richard Chang)
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