* Fed minutes weigh on stocks, oil
* Dollar gains
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) – Global stocks fell, while the
dollar gained o n T uesday as minutes from the latest U.S. central
bank meeting showed policymakers may be less keen to move ahead
with further economic stimulus.
Federal Reserve policymakers, in their March meeting
minutes, noted recent signs of slightly stronger growth but
remained cautious about a broad pick-up in U.S. economic
activity.
Still, the minutes suggested the appetite for another dose of
quantitative easing, so-called QE3, has eased.
The MSCI world equity index was down 0.9
percent and U.S. stocks fell by a similar margin, adding to
losses after the release of the minutes.
“I think the market’s attention was caught by the reference
to no further easing unless growth slows,” said Vassili
Serebriakov, currency strategist at Wells Fargo in New York.
Optimism about possible further stimulus from the Fed has
helped fuel recent gains in stocks, which have been on an
uptrend in the United States for the past six months.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 111.48
points, or 0.84 percent, to 13,153.01. The Standard & Poor’s 500
Index lost 12.17 points, or 0.86 percent, to 1,406.87.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 15.57 points, or 0.50
percent, to 3,104.13.
The dollar was up 0.7 percent against a basket of currencies
after trading near flat earlier in the day, while Brent
and U.S. crude futures added to the day’s losses.
Brent crude fell $1 to $124.43 a barrel.
In the bond market, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note
was down 22/32, its yield at 2.27 percent.
