FX.co ★ US stocks decline by 0.13-0.15%

US stocks fell by 0.13-0.15% at the close of yesterday's trading, although they rose by 0.4-0.94% during trading. Consequently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite were down 0.15% each, while the broad S&P 500 index lost only 0.13%.

The Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech favored the growth of the US indices. He said that the country's economy is strong enough to curb galloping inflation. Notably, this month the regulator decided to raise interest rates immediately by 75 points to lower rising prices. Moreover, the Fed raised its inflation forecast for 2022 from 4.3% to 5.2% during the June meeting. Experts predict that the tightening of monetary policy will continue. The rate is expected to be raised by another 75 points during next month's meeting.

The major gainers among the Dow Jones components were shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble Co.. They rose by 1.95%, 1.58%, and 1.56% respectively.

At the same time, Dow Inc. stock declined by 4.75%. Moreover, shares of Caterpillar Inc. and Chevron Corp. lost 4.35% each.

The top gainers among the S&P 500 index components were shares of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., Clorox Co., and Moderna Inc.They added 5.96%, 5.19%, and 4.68% respectively.

Altria Group stock, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. as well as Marathon Oil Corp stocks dropped. They fell by 9.19%, 7.96%, and 7.23% respectively.

The shares of Ocean Bio-Chem Inc., Phoenix Motor Inc., and Visionary Education Technology Holdings Group Inc. were major gainers among the components of the NASDAQ Composite index. They advanced by 117.23%, 70.47%, and 47.86% respectively.

Other companies included in this index saw significant declines: Athira Pharma Inc. lost 66.27%, Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. dropped by 40.69%, and Electric Last Mile fell by 34.97%.

On the New York Stock Exchange, the stocks that went down outnumbered the stocks that gained (1,739 against 1,433). The NASDAQ stock exchange followed the same pattern: 1,928 shares declined, while 1,880 shares went up.

Quotes of some companies reached record highs or lows. Therefore, Altria Group stock hit a year low and fell to 41.50. Dow Inc. also dropped to a year low of 52.34. Shares of Athira Pharma Inc. reached an all-time low of 2.8, while stock hit a record high of 5.83.

The market volatility index, calculated from options trading, was down 4.11% to 28.95.

Gold futures rose by 0.06% to $1 per troy ounce. WTI crude futures fell by 3.94% to $105.20 a barrel and Brent crude futures dropped by 3.4% to $110.75 a barrel.