Global markets feel impact of Bernanke's speech

Markets worldwide suffered on news the US is likely to put an end to its loose monetary policy.

US markets closed down last night following US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's signal there will not be another round of quantitative easing, despite the emergence of weaker economic data, the Financial Times reported. The S&P 500 closed down 0.1% last night at 1,284.94, after an early gain of 0.8%, while the yield on 10-year notes dropped 2 basis points to 2.98%, after an early rise of 3.05%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones fell 0.16% to 12,070.80 by close of trading. "The US economy is recovering from both the worst financial crisis and the most severe housing bust since the Great ...