© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A trader passes by a screen that displays the trading info for Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
By Amruta Khandekar and Shristi Achar A
(Reuters) – U.S. stocks struggled for direction on Thursday as uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve will start easing financial conditions kept investors on edge as they awaited further policy cues from central bank officials.
Softer-than-expected monthly jobs data and easing of the Fed’s hawkish stance at its last meeting pulled U.S. Treasury yields down from multi-year highs, helping equities stage a stellar comeback from their October lows.
However, the rally lost steam as several Fed policymakers this week pushed back against market expectations that the central bank will begin cutting interest rates soon.
The benchmark and the Nasdaq eked out marginal gains on Wednesday, but managed to extend their recent winning streak.
“The market is coming back more towards the Nasdaq over the last several days, versus the Dow and the more cyclical and value oriented components,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio…
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