Stocks fell yesterday after an early rally built on Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan's US Senate testimony succumbed to concerns that the central banker may not be as aggressive in cutting interest rates later this year.
"Some people were disappointed that Greenspan did cite some signs of strength in the economy," said Mr Ned Riley, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, with about $720 billion (€781 billion) in assets under management.
"They saw it as an indication that maybe we aren't on a path to recession and that monetary policy might be applied more gradually than some had factored into the price of stocks," he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43.45 points, to close at 10,903.32, according to the latest data, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 61.96 points, to a five-week closing low of 2,427.70.
About halfway through the trading day, the Dow reached a session-high of 11,012.90, a gain of 66.10 points, while the Nasdaq composite peaked just after Mr Greenspan began his testimony at 10 a.m. up 65 points, at 2,554.65.
