U.S. Stocks Fall Amid Rate Concerns as Commodity Shares Tumble

---

U.S. stocks fell as a rout in commodities pressured energy and raw-materials providers while investors braced for the first rise in interest rates since 2006.

Chevron Corp. dropped 2.9 percent and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. tumbled 6.2 percent as the stronger dollar and a persistent slump in demand from China sent the Bloomberg Commodity Index to the lowest since 1999. Equities slipped to session lows after Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said conditions for raising rates may soon be satisfied.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1 percent to 2,054.53 at 12:23 p.m. in New York, slipping below its average price during the past 200 days. The U.S. equity benchmark has struggled to hold gains after rallying to within 1 percent of a record on Nov. 3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 209.46, or 1.2 percent, to 17,492.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

Fed Dudley Says Need for Higher Rates Soon is Quite Possible

---

The Federal Reserve’s policy committee may need to begin raising interest rates for the first time since 2006, though some slack remains in the labor market, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said Thursday.

“I think it is quite possible that the conditions the Committee has established to begin to normalize monetary policy could soon be satisfied,” Dudley said in a speech in New York. “I will be evaluating the incoming information to see if it confirms my expectation that growth will be sufficient to further tighten the U.S. labor market.”

Fed President James Bullard of St. Louis earlier on Thursday urged the Fed to raise interest rates from near zero, while Chicago Fed leader Charles Evans stressed any increases should be “gradual” and rates could be less than 1 percent at the end of next year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has told Congress that the U.S. economy was performing well and that a December rate hike is a "live possibility."

“The economy looks to be in decent shape and is likely to continue to grow at a slightly above-trend pace,” Dudley told the Economic Club of New York. “Spare labor resources are shrinking. But there still is some risk that the growth pace could slow as the trade sector acts as a drag on aggregate economic activity.”

While noting that the job market has made progress, Dudley said he wasn’t ready to commit to December, adding that ”we have still not seen compelling evidence” that a tighter market is leading to greater compensation gains.

A still-elevated number of part-time workers and discouraged workers suggests the economy is not at full employment, with slack of an additional quarter point to half point in an unemployment rate at 5 percent, Dudley said.

“I have greater concerns because we continue to fall substantially short of our inflation objective of 2 percent,” and measures of inflation expectations “are under downward pressure.”

Investors raised the probabilities of a Fed rate hike in December after a Labor Department report Friday showed 271,000 jobs were added in October, and the jobless rate fell to 5 percent.

The Fed faces risks of hiking rates too quickly or too slowly, with those concerns ”nearly balanced,” Dudley said.

Beyond the first rate increase, the economy will face headwinds including a strong U.S. dollar and tight mortgage credit, he said.

“After lift-off the upward trajectory of the short-term rates is likely to be quite shallow,” Dudley said.

Source: Bloomberg

At Least 37 Killed in Twin Suicide Blasts in Lebanese Capital

---

Lebanese officials said at least 37 people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in twin suicide blasts in a predominantly Shi'ite suburb in Lebanon's capital, Beirut.

Authorities said the explosions occurred minutes apart late Thursday in Burj al-Barajneh, a busy commercial and residential area in southern Beirut.

The area, a stronghold of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, has been hit in the past. Sunni militants groups have threatened to carry out more attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned the explosions, calling them "heinous terrorist attacks." He said on Twitter that "targeting civilians is a vile and unjustified act."

The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Sidrig Kaag, also condemned the attack. She said, "Lebanon's unity, stability and security need to be supported and shielded at all times."

Hezbollah fighters have been backing up Syrian troops in Syria's civil war.  Hezbollah is supported by Iran and Syria.

Source: Bloomberg

Dollar Falls for Second Day as Fed Officials Stress Gradual Path

---

The dollar dropped for a second day after Federal Reserve policy makers shied away from reaffirming investors’ expectation of an interest-rate increase next month.

Currency investors, who’ve been accumulating bets on a stronger dollar this month, were disappointed when New York Fed President William C. Dudley said policy should be tightened only gradually after interest rates are increased for the first time since 2006. Commodities currencies weakened, including the Canadian dollar and Norway’s krone, on speculation increasing energy supplies will extend a global crude-oil rout.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback versus 10 major counterparts, fell 0.2 percent to 1,226.80 as of 3:03 p.m. New York time. The gauge has rallied 1.4 percent this month and reached the strongest level Tuesday in more than a decade.

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Fall Amid Rate Concerns as Commodity Shares Tumble

---

U.S. stocks fell the most in six weeks as a rout in commodities pressured energy and raw-materials providers while investors braced for the first rise in interest rates since 2006.

Chevron Corp. dropped 2.5 percent and miner Freeport-McMoRan Inc. sank 5.8 percent as the stronger dollar and a persistent slump in demand from China sent the Bloomberg Commodity Index to the lowest since 1999. The recent weakness in commodity shares is a turnabout after energy and raw-materials helped drive a rebound from a summer correction and in October had their strongest month in four years.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.4 percent to 2,046.01 at 4 p.m. in New York, slipping below its average price during the past 200 days for the first time in two weeks. The U.S. equity benchmark has struggled to hold gains after rallying to within 1 percent of a record on Nov. 3.

Source : Bloomberg