Wall Street fell as investors weighed comments from various US Federal Reserve officials following last week's surprise decision by the central bank not to cut back its monthly bond-buying program.
"The more people who speak from the Fed in one day, the less clarity there is," Richard Sichel, who oversees about US$1.9 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust, told Bloomberg News. "People will be hanging at every word that's said for more clues about our monetary policy."
Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said the timetable for the start of a taper as outlined by Chairman Ben Bernanke remains intact.
"The economic fundamentals are improving and I expect that the healing process will continue in the coming months and years," Dudley said in a speech. "At the same time, it is important to recognise that the financial crisis generated significant headwinds that are only slowly abating. We must push against these headwinds forcefully to best achieve our objectives."
Separately, Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart wondered if the US was losing its "economic mojo?" "There is some evidence to the affirmative," he said.