U.S. stocks were flat in early trade Thursday after the IMF called for the Federal Reserve to delay its planned interest rate increase until 2016.
About 35 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18,048.75, up 8.48 points (0.05%). The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.33 (0.06%) to 2,112.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.61 (0.03%) at 5,100.84.
U.S. stocks had opened lower on concerns over volatile U.S. and European bond yields and slow progress in negotiations between Greece and its creditors ahead of a key Greek debt-payment deadline Friday.
However, markets rallied after the International Monetary Fund said the Fed should “defer its first increase in policy rates until there are greater signs of wage or price inflation than are currently evident.”
The Fed has been edging toward a rate hike as early as June or July, but the Fund said the U.S. economy would not be ready for it until early next year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
