U.S. Stock-Index Futures Drop After Fed Raises Discount Rate
By Michael P. Regan
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures fell as the Federal Reserve raised the discount rate it charges on loans to banks after the close of exchanges, spurring concern the economic rebound will slow as stimulus programs are unwound.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March lost 0.9 percent to 1,095.2 at 4:52 p.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures expiring next month sank 75 points, or 0.7 percent, to 10,300.
The S&P 500
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund, an exchange- traded fund that tracks financial stocks and is known by its XLF ticker symbol, fell 1.1 percent to $14.22 in after-hours trade, erasing its gain from the regular session. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. also retreated.
“Anytime interest rates go up, people think borrowing costs are going to rise for business and that’s bad,” said
Jerome Dodson, who oversees $3.5 billion as president of Parnassus Investments in San Francisco. “That’s why traders and speculators are selling the market down. I don’t think it’ll last long because it does send the message that the Fed isn’t worried about the economy falling back into a recession.”
The Fed raised the discount rate from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent and said the move will encourage financial institutions to rely more on money markets, rather than the central bank, for short-term loans.
Stimulus Unwind
The move marks another step by the Fed in a gradual retreat from its unprecedented actions to halt the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression. The Fed has provided hundreds of billions of dollars in credit to banks, bond dealers, commercial paper borrowers and troubled financial institutions.
“These changes are intended as a further normalization of the Federal Reserve’s lending facilities,” the central bank said today in a statement. “The modifications are not expected to lead to tighter financial conditions for households and businesses and do not signal any change in the outlook for the economy or for monetary policy.”
The Dollar Index, which gauges the currency against six major U.S. trading partners, jumped as much as 0.7 percent after the announcement. Treasuries extended losses.