Bucking the trend, Malaysia eked out gains for a third day while Vietnam closed at a more-than-three-month high, led by gains in Vinamilk.
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On Friday, however, investors will digest the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report for October. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,099.93 and the Nasdaq composite fell 14.74 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,127.74.
“Unless subsequent data between now and the middle of December end up being extraordinarily weak, the likelihood that the Fed goes in December is very, very high”, said Krishna Memani, chief investment officer at OppenheimerFunds in New York.
That’s probably strong enough to keep intact bets that the Fed will hike next month after Fed chair Janet Yellen told the Congress that the December meeting was a “live possibility” for an interest rate hike, sending the greenback broadly higher. Brent crude, which is used to price worldwide oils, fell 60 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $47.98 a barrel.
Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on the “Federal Reserve’s Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System” in Washington on Wednesday.
“We’ve got two more payrolls before the Fed meets in December so it’s reasonably important”, said Imre Speizer, senior market strategist at Westpac Banking Corp in Auckland.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 5 points to 17,871 as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern.
IN FASHION: Michael Kors Holdings, the clothing and handbag company owned by its namesake designer, rose $4.69, or 12 percent, to $44.03 after the company reported revenue and profits in the latest quarter that were stronger than analysts expected. The Fed in its October policy statement was deliberately trying to convince investors of a possible December interest rate hike, and was successful in doing so, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Thursday.
Toyota kept its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March unchanged at 2.25 trillion yen ($18.5 billion). Exports rose 1.6 percent to $187.9 billion while imports fell 1.8 percent to $228.7 billion (the lowest level since February).
The chances for a December rate hike are now perceived as higher than 50 percent after Yellen laid out what appeared to be the base case that the economy is ready for higher rates.
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Hours after Yellen’s testimony in Washington, New York Fed President William Dudley – another influential FOMC member – said he agrees.
