Shares of banks and lenders tumbled ahead of a two day Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Fed officials could signal this week that they anticipate raising interest rates sooner than previously expected following a spate of high inflation readings. In March, the last time they released quarterly economic forecasts, most officials expected to keep the Fed's benchmark interest rate near zero through 2023 to encourage the economy's recovery from the pandemic. Officials are set to release updated projections Wednesday.
Bitcoin reached its highest level in more than two weeks, buoyed by MicroStrategy completing its $500 million offering of junk bonds to buy bitcoin and by fresh comments from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk that reopened the possibility of the electric car maker accepting bitcoin for purchases.
Stripe has yet to go public, but investors are still craving a piece of it. The company, which processes payments for e-commerce businesses, recently offered investors the chance to acquire sizable stakes in the company from existing shareholders, including current and former Stripe employees, according to people familiar with the transaction.
Bids from those investors exceeded $4 billion, some of the people said.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-14-21 1736ET
