Major US stock indexes finished trading below the zero mark

The main US stock indexes showed most of the session, but after the publication of the minutes of the last meeting, the Fed moved to negative territory.

The market was supported by strong data on employment in the private sector of the United States. According to the report, in March the number of employed increased by 263 thousand people compared to the revised indicator for February at the level of 245 thousand (originally reported growth of 298 thousand). It was expected that the number of employed will increase by 187 thousand.

In addition, the growth in the US service sector was maintained in March, although to a lesser extent than in the previous month, as the volumes of incoming orders grew more slowly. The index of business activity in the sphere of services from Markit in the USA, taking into account seasonal fluctuations, remained above the 50.0-neutral neutral mark in March, and extended the current growth period to 13 months. However, the index continued to fall from the recent peak of January, reaching a 6-month low of 52.8 (February: 53.8).

At the same time, the index of business activity in the US services sector, calculated by the ISM, fell to 55.2 points in March compared to 57.6 points in February. The latter value was the lowest since October 2016, when the index was 54.8 points. Analysts predicted that the indicator will worsen only to 57.0 points.

As for the minutes of the Fed meeting, it was reported that the leaders of the Fed during the March meeting agreed "later this year" to start reducing the balance of the Central Bank. However, they did not reach an agreement on the timing and scale of the reduction of the balance sheet. In addition, the protocol showed that the majority of participants in the meeting believed that the gradual rate increase would continue, and a change in the reinvestment policy would be appropriate later in 2017. "Some participants in the meeting made it clear that the Fed should return to buying assets only in case of significant economic problems that will require more supportive monetary policy in the form of lower rates," says the minutes of the March meeting, during which the Fed raised the rate by 0 , 25%, to 0.75% -1.0%.

The components of the DOW index mostly decreased (21 out of 30). The leader of growth was the shares of McDonald's Corporation (MCD, + 0.82%). More shares fell JPMorgan Chase & Co. shares. (JPM, -1.20%).

Almost all sectors of the S & P index showed negative dynamics. The conglomerate sector fell most of all (-1.1%). The increase was recorded only by the service sector (+ 0.2%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.20% 20.647.54 -41.70

Nasdaq -0.58% 5,864.48 -34.13

S & P -0.31% 2,352.84 -7.32