US stocks decline in anticipation of US Fed action, Dow Jones down 2.06%

Experts note that against the backdrop of the latest macroeconomic statistics for the country, in particular on the labor market and inflation, traders rejected the expectations of the Fed's policy easing, which have recently contributed to the rally in the markets.

The next meeting of the US Federal Reserve will be held on March 21-22. According to CME Group, 76% of analysts expect the regulator to raise the discount rate by 25 basis points, to 4.75-5%. It also follows from these data that the proportion of those who expect a 50 basis point increase has recently increased.

At the close in the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones fell 2.06% to a one-month low, the S&P 500 fell 2.00%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 2.50%.

Walmart Inc was the top performer among the components of the Dow Jones index today, up 0.89 points (0.61%) to close at 147.33. Procter & Gamble Company fell 0.10 points or 0.07% to close at 139.91. The Travelers Companies Inc shed 0.50 points or 0.27% to close at 185.25.

The least gainers were Home Depot Inc, which shed 22.45 points or 7.06% to end the session at 295.50. Intel Corporation was up 5.61% or 1.55 points to close at 26.06, while 3M Company was down 3.31% or 3.74 points to close at 109.25 .

The leading gainers among the S&P 500 index components in today's trading were General Mills Inc, which rose 4.42% to 80.16, Organon & Co, which gained 3.94% to close at 27.05, and also shares of Molson Coors Brewing Co Class B, which rose 3.13% to end the session at 53.65.

The least gainers were Generac Holdings Inc, which shed 8.72% to close at 115.72. Shares of DISH Network Corporation shed 8.62% to end the session at 12.93. Home Depot Inc lost 7.06% to 295.50.

Leading gainers among the components of the NASDAQ Composite in today's trading were Atlas Lithium Corp, which rose 51.52% to hit 10.94, Meihua International Medical Technologies Co Ltd, which gained 49.94% to close at 39. 00, as well as Arbe Robotics Ltd, which rose 47.13% to end the session at 6.40.

The least gainers were CVRx Inc, which shed 58.84% to close at 7.08. Shares of Aileron Therapeutics Inc lost 37.77% to end the session at 1.46. Quotes of TC BioPharm Holdings PLC decreased in price by 32.62% to 5.02.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the number of securities that fell in price (2689) exceeded the number of those that closed in positive territory (382), while quotes of 57 shares remained virtually unchanged. On the NASDAQ stock exchange, 3,017 companies fell in price, 697 rose, and 149 remained at the level of the previous close.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which is based on S&P 500 options trading, rose 7.72% to 22.87, hitting a new monthly high.

Gold futures for April delivery lost 0.35%, or 6.45, to hit $1.00 a troy ounce. In other commodities, WTI April futures fell 0.50%, or 0.38, to $76.17 a barrel. Brent crude for April delivery fell 1.47%, or 1.24, to $82.83 a barrel.

Meanwhile, in the Forex market, the EUR/USD pair remained unchanged at 0.34% to 1.06, while USD/JPY advanced 0.56% to hit 134.99.

Futures on the USD index rose 0.34% to 104.14.