Stock markets closed down Wednesday, with the S&P 500 retreating from its record-breaking close a day earlier as the Federal Reserve expressed concerns over the economy.
The S&P 500 closed down 15 points, or 0.4 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 85 points, or 0.3 percent.
Notes from the Fed’s July 28-29 meeting revealed agreement among the board of governors that “the ongoing public health crisis would weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term and was posing considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.”
The notes also showed broad agreement that more fiscal stimulus would be necessary.
Plans to extend key emergency programs such as expanded unemployment payments and small business loans past their July expiration dates have fallen apart amid sharp disagreements between Democrats and the White House.
Senate Republicans have begun piecing together a smaller, “skinny” package of benefits in an attempt to restart negotiations. President Trump, in the meantime, issued a series of executive orders to try to provide relief in the interim and boost pressure on Congress.
But the reduced level of unemployment benefits he hoped to reroute from the Federal Emergency Management Agency won’t be up and running for weeks in some states, and could only last for three weeks.
Business groups said that employers were likely to ignore a separate order to defer payroll taxes without action from Congress.
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