(MENAFN– ecpulse)
U.S. Stocks were little changed at Friday’s open, looking to cap the third-straight weekly gain for major benchmarks, as investors weighed this week`s Federal Reserve announcement and further remarks by central-bank officials.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.18% to 15608.03 points. The S&P 500 index lost 0.06% to 1721.34 points. The NASDAQ composite gained 0.09% to 3792.63 points. As of 10:10 a.m. ET
Investors continued to digest the Fed`s Wednesday announcement that it would leave monetary stimulus measures in place, which led to a rally in the Dow and S&P 500 to all-time highs. Many had expected the central bank to scale back its bond-buying program, which some investors say has depressed interest rates and support stock prices.
Early Friday, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said the Fed may reduce bond purchases in October after a "borderline" decision not to do so at the central bank`s latest meeting, Bloomberg News reported. Mr. Bullard was among the Fed officials who voted to keep policy unchanged.
The next Fed policy meeting is scheduled for Oct. 29-30.
The S&P 500 rose to an all-time intraday high early Thursday before turning lower to close down 0.2%, the first loss in five sessions.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched up to 2.759% from 2.748% late Thursday. The yield was down sharply from 2.896% a week ago, with the bulk of the declines coming after the Fed kept its bond-buying programs unchanged.
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