US Markets ended in red on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials unanimously voted to keep interest rates unchanged at the June FOMC meeting,while also forecasting at least one possible rate hike ahead. On the economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the US increased 0.9% m-o-m in May 2026, higher than a downwardly revised 0.4% rise in April and above forecasts of 0.5%, signalling a robust consumer spending. Sales increased the most in gasoline stations (3.4%) as gas prices continued to rise due to the war with Iran. Also, the Commerce Department said business inventories in the US increased 0.5% month-over-month in April 2026, following an upwardly revised 1% rise in March which was the biggest gain since June 2022 and in line with market expectations. A slowdown was seen in inventories at manufacturers (0.3% vs 0.7%), retailers (0.7% vs 0.8%) and merchant wholesalers (0.6% vs 1.5%). Besides, another report released by the National Association of Realtors indicated that US pending home sales surged 3.8% month-over-month in May 2026, following a downwardly revised 0.3% rise in April and exceeding market expectations of 0.8%. This marked the steepest monthly increase since September 2024, with gains across all regions: Northeast (+8.7%), Midwest (+8.1%), South (+1.0%), and West (+0.7%). Year-over-year, pending home sales rose 4.8%.
Nasdaq slipped 354.68 points or 1.35 percent to 26,021.65, S&P 500 was down 91.25 points or 1.21 percent to 7,420.1 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 507.12 points or 0.98 percent to 51,492.55.
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