On Wednesday (March 8), the Dow Jones closed slightly lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell completed his monetary policy address to Congress. Investors are keeping an eye on the release of US non-farm payrolls and inflation data to assess the direction of the Fed’s interest rates in the future. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 32,798.40 points, down 58.06 points or -0.18%.
In other news, Reuters reported that FBI Director Christopher Wray told the US Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that the Chinese government may use TikTok to control the data of millions of American users and manipulate software on millions of devices to spread false information to divide Americans about Taiwan and other issues.
Meanwhile, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an investigation into complaints that the steering wheel of a 2023 Model Y Tesla came off while the driver was driving on the road. NHTSA said it had received two complaints about the problem and found that the vehicle was delivered to the buyer without the mounting bolts between the steering wheel and the steering shaft.
In Indonesia, at least 17 people have died and 41 are missing after a landslide hit the western Riau Islands following heavy rain since last Monday, causing more than 1,000 people to be evacuated from their homes.
In terms of important economic data to follow today, China is due to release its consumer price index (CPI) in February and producer price index (PPI) in February, while the United States will release its weekly jobless claims.