In a speech to the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said that at present there are no "convincing" signs that wage inflation is accelerating, "and the strengthening of the labor market will not lead to an increase in consumer price inflation." He added that some labor market The backdrop for Powell's speech was worries about whether Fedrezer was too quick to raise his interest rates.

A certain influence on the dynamics of trading also had statistical data on the United States. The Ministry of Labor reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to its lowest level since December 1969, which was a new sign of health in the labor market. Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 10,000 to 210,000 people for the week ending February 24. This was the lowest rate of primary hits since the week ending December 6, 1969. Economists had expected 226,000 new applications. The four-week moving average of primary hits fell by 5,000 to 220,500, the lowest level since December 27, 1969.

A separate report from the Ministry of Labor indicated that consumer spending in January rose by 0.2%, as the Americans cut their spending after the holidays. At the same time, expenses fell for the first time in a year, if they were adjusted for inflation. The result coincided with the forecast of economists. At the same time, revenues increased by 0.4%, and after-tax income became the largest since 2012 after the tax reform of the Trump administration. Real disposable income grew by 0.9%. The combination of higher incomes and slower spending increased the US savings rate to 3.2% from 2.5%.

Meanwhile, a report published by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed: in February, activity in the US manufacturing sector grew despite the forecasts of economists. The PMI index for the manufacturing sector was 60.8 points in February against 59.1 in January. It was expected that the figure would drop to 58.7.

Almost all components of the DOW index recorded a decline (26 out of 30). Outsider were shares of The Boeing Company (BA, -2.92%). Leader of growth were shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, + 0.88%).

Almost all sectors of S & P finished trading in the red. The largest decrease was shown by the sector of industrial goods (-1.6%). The conglomerate sector grew most (+ 1.1%).

At closing:

Dow -1.68% 24,608.98 -420.22

Nasdaq -1.27% 7,180.56 -92.45

S & P -1.33% 2,677.67 -36.16

U.S. stock-index futures fell slightly on Thursday, as investors awaited the Fed's Chair Jerome Powell to resume his semiannual testimony on monetary policy in the U.S. Congress.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 21,724.47 -343.77 -1.56%

Hang Seng 31,044.25 +199.53 +0.65%

Shanghai 3,273.76 +14.35 +0.44%

S&P/ASX 5,973.30 -42.70 -0.71%

FTSE 7,183.52 -48.39 -0.67%

CAC 5,270.92 -49.57 -0.93%

DAX 12,259.22 -176.63 -1.42%

Crude $61.26 (-0.62%)

Gold $1,307.30 (-0.80%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

European stocks closed lower Wednesday, in line with losses in other global equity markets as investors start to price in the probability that the Federal Reserve will ramp up its pace in raising borrowing costs this year.

U.S. stocks closed lower in a volatile session Wednesday, reversing their earlier gains as Wall Street digested data that were seen as underlining the economy's robust health, although that same strength could warrant the Federal Reserve to turn more hawkish and increase corporate borrowing costs.

Asia-Pacific stocks began March by extending losses logged at the end of February - though markets in China were an exception ahead of annual legislative meetings. Thursday's early weakness in the region followed a second-straight late-session slide in the U.S., as investors weigh the likelihood of a faster pace of U.S. interest-rate rises and its likely effect on markets. The weakness also follows the worst monthly performance for most indexes in Asia-Pacific in two years.