Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Wall Street Falls as Pandemic-Era Low in US Jobless Claims Triggers Fed's Taper Fears

Wall Street Falls as Pandemic-Era Low in US Jobless Claims Triggers Fed's Taper Fears

US stocks fell broadly for a fourth day in a row on Thursday after another Federal Reserve official advocated this week for a prompt taper of the central bank’s long-running economic stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broadest equity barometer on the New York Stock Exchange that lists mostly industrial stocks, settled at 34,879, down 152 points or 0.4 percent on the day. The Dow has lost a cumulative 563 points, or 1.6 percent, over the past four sessions.

The S&P 500, which groups the top 500 US stocks, closed at 4,493, down 21 points, or 0.5 percent. The blue-chip indicator slid by 44 points or almost 1 percent over four trading days.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, which includes stocks of technology giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, settled at 15,248, down 38 points, or 0.3 percent. The tech-heavy index slid 126 points, or 0.8 percent, over the past two sessions.

Stocks fell after Labor Department data showed US jobless claims rose by 310,000 last week but remained below the key 400,000 for a sixth straight week to mark a new COVID-19 pandemic-era low.

Wall Street has been under pressure since Wednesday after Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said it might be appropriate to start tapering this year the central bank’s stimulus for the US economy if inflation remains unbridled and the recovery from the pandemic stays on track.

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman was the second senior official of the central bank to think so on Thursday, saying US inflationary pressures were in line with the robust demand and constrained supplies in the economy, making a stimulus taper before the end of the year likely appropriate.

Bowman said the United States has achieved "significant progress" on price stability and is "quite close" to achieving its aim of full employment and it was "critical not to draw too many conclusions from a single month's shaky job market data." Ensuring maximum employment and manageable inflation are the Federal Reserve’s two mandates.


The Federal Reserve has been buying $120 billion in bonds and other assets since the COVID-19 outbreak of March 2020 to support the economy. The central bank has also been keeping interest rates at virtually zero levels for the past 18 months.

The Federal Reserve stimulus program is being blamed for aggravating price pressures in the United States, where economic growth for the second quarter of 2021 was estimated at 6.6 percent - above the 3.5 percent decline noted for all of 2020. The central bank itself has projected economic growth at 6.5 percent for all of 2021.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation - the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices - rose 3.6 percent in the year through July, its most since 1991. The PCE Index including energy and food rose 4.2 percent year-on-year. The central bank’s own target for inflation is 2 percent per year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
×