Ticker: S&P 500 has 2nd losing week in a row on Wall Street

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 benchmark index losing 1.2% Friday for a second losing week in a row.

The Dow fell 288 points and the Nasdaq composite gave back 1.6%. The market had posted some gains this week following several healthy indicators on the economy ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, where it’s expected to hold interest rates steady. Tech stocks were the biggest drag on the market. Automaker stocks proved resilient after the United Auto Workers union walked off the job at several plants overnight. Treasury yields mostly rose.

The market posted some gains earlier this week following several healthy indicators on the economy. Wall Street has been watching economic updates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy meeting next week.

Russia raises key interest rate again as inflation and exchange rate worries continue

MOSCOW — Russia’s central bank has raised its key lending rate by one percentage point to 13%, a month after imposing an even larger hike. Concerns about inflation persist and the ruble continues to struggle against the dollar.

The increase comes as annualized inflation rose in September to 5.5%. The bank says it expects inflation will reach 6%-7% by the end of the year. In August, the central bank increased the lending rate to 12% — a jump of 3.5 percentage points — as the ruble fell to 100 against the dollar. Although the ruble’s exchange rate improved mildly after the rate hike, it remains around 95 to the dollar, significantly weaker than a year ago when it was trading at around 60 to the U.S. currency.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/JpVmAL0