DJIA down 0.09% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 18 Apr - US shares turned lower in afternoon trade as a brace of Fed officials said there was no rush to cut interest rates.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic reiterated at a conference he did not expect to lower rates until the end of the year, adding it was right to be patient given job growth remains strong and wages good.

Elsewhere New York Fed president John Williams said he also did not see any urgent need to cut interest rates given the strength of the US economy. "I think we've got interest rates in a place that is moving us gradually to our goals," he said at an event.

The comments follow hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that it will take "longer than expected" to achieve the confidence needed to get inflation down to the central bank's 2% target.

Stubborn inflation has strengthened convictions the Federal Reserve will hold off longer on rate cuts and dial down the number of cuts it makes in the year.

The CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently pricing in a chance of just 17% for a Fed rate cut at its June meeting with September now seen as the most likely date for a first move.

On the data front, the latest jobless data came slightly below expectations pointing to a still tight labour market while existing home sales fell to post their biggest drop in 16 months.

On the earnings front strong results from Taiwan semiconductor group TSMC pointed to how AI is driving demand for advanced chips, lifting peer Nvidia. Netflix is due to report its earnings after the closing bell.

With more than 10% of S&P 500 companies having already reported earnings, over 70% have beaten expectations, according to FactSet.

At 1728 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 35.65 points, or 0.09%, at 37,717.66 points.

The S&P 500 was 13.41 points, or 0.27%, lower at 5,008.80 points.

The Nasdaq was down 63.59 points, or 0.41%, at 15,619.78 points.

AAA-Sje

(RADIOCOR) 18-04-24 19:35:53 (0747) 5 NNNN