The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 633.87 points, or 2.05%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.57% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.61% as the
"The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus, including progress on vaccinations," the
Wednesday's losses marked the Dow's worst day since
In comments on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair
"The economic dislocation has abandoned many lives and created great uncertainty about the future," he said. "Something like 9 million people remain unemployed as a consequence of the pandemic. That's as many people lost their jobs at the peak of the global financial crisis in the great recession. Many small businesses are under pressure and other needs to be address and the path ahead is still uncertain."
Wednesday's decline also came as retail investors from the online community Reddit have targeted heavily shorted stocks, primarily
"Market participants have watched the [
"Remember, we're focused on maximum employment, price stability, financial stability of, as I defined it, the broad financial sector," he said. "Over the years we consult the fact that we have authority, but it's not something we're looking at right now."
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