US Stocks End Mostly Lower As Rally Peters Out

Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower on Monday after earlier flirting with records following the renomination of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged above their closing records during the session before nose-diving later in the session.

Sources of volatility included new Covid-19 restrictions in some European countries and a jump in the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note that underscored rising expectations that higher inflation will lead to increased interest rates.

The Dow Jones finished up less than 0.1 percent at 35,619.

The S&P 500 shed 0.3 percent to 4,682, while the Nasdaq tumbled 1.3 percent to 15,854.

Stocks had initially rallied on the White House's announcement about Powell.

Appointed by President Joe Biden's Republican predecessor Donald Trump and taking office in 2018, Powell has led the central bank's response to the massive pandemic downturn, which saw it slash its lending rate to zero and roll out trillions of dollars in liquidity.

Biden praised Powell for providing "steady leadership during an unprecedently challenging period, including the biggest downturn in modern history."

But the appointment comes as higher consumer prices prompt debate over whether the Fed will be forced to raise interest rates more quickly than Powell has signalled. (AFP)