The Dow is down 1% after Hawkeye Bullard comments

June 18 (Reuters) – The Dow fell 1% on Friday after Federal Reserve official James Bullard said inflation was stronger than expected and that the central bank would take several meetings to figure out how to reverse the stimulus.

The blue-chip dove and S&P 500 were set to be the worst day in a month after St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman Bullard said he was one of seven officials to see a rate hike starting next year to control inflation.

CBOE Fluctuation Code (.VIX), Wall Street’s fear level rose to 20.60 points, the highest level since May 21 following his comments.

“This could indicate that inflation is becoming a concern for the central bank,” said Rick McLaren, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.

“Second, it suggests that the tightening will disrupt the growth of the economy and the returns of the S&P 500 more than investors thought.”

After Wall Street’s key signals unexpectedly signaled earlier this week, its massive stimulus could start faster than expected, setting the S&P 500 benchmark (.SPX) Definitely a three week win. read more

Weekly weaker-than-expected weekly unemployment claims on Thursday prompted the withdrawal of funds linked to the economy. (.SPSY), Energy (.SPNY) And materials (.SPLRCM) Shares.

Rate Sensitive Bank Shares (.SPXBK) Shed 1.8% as US yield curve flatts. [US/]

“The surprising fall in long-term yields this week shows the market is concerned about the strength of the recovery in the second half of this year,” said Ryan Tetrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial.

11:47 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) 386.62 points or 1.14% lower at 33,436.83, the S&P 500 (.SPX) 39.84 points or 0.94% to 4,182.02. Nasdaq hybrid (.IXIC) 111.22 points or 0.79% lower at 14,050.13.

Friday is “Fourfold Witch Day”, the quarterly expiration of US options and futures contracts, bringing with it increased trading volume in the market close.

Randy Frederick, vice president of trade and descendants of Charles Swabin, noted that this was the expiration of the largest options in history.

Transportation Finance and Logistics Company CAI International Inc. (CAI.N) Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc rises 46.5% after agreeing to acquire $ 1.1 billion (8593.T).

At 2.88-to-1 on the NYSE and 2.63-to-1 on the NASD, the issues are lower than advisers.

The S&P Index 12 recorded a new 52-week high and a new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 38 new lows.

Sagarika Jaisihani Report in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Foundation Principles.