U.S. stocks fall on Fed comments

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes fell Friday after two Federal Reserve officials said inflation pressures could prompt an interest rate hike.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 56.80 or 0.45 percent to 12,580.83. The broader Standard & Poor's stock index lost 10.25 or 0.71 percent to 1,438.06.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 994 stocks advanced and 2,333 declined on volume of 3.01 billion shares.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index slid 28.85 or 1.16 percent to 2,459.82.

St. Louis Fed President William Poole and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher both said interest rates would go higher if inflation pressures returned.

In London, the FTSE 100 closed 36.4 points or 0.57 percent higher at 6,382.8, its highest closing level since December 2000.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index rose 211.85 points 1.23 percent to close at 17,504.33. For the week, the index dropped 0.8 percent, its first weekly decline since early January.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 12/32, or $3.75 per $1,000 invested, to yield 4.79 percent. The 30-year bond was off 22/32, yielding 4.87 percent.

The U.S. dollar was at 121.68 yen from 121.08 yen at Thursday's close. The euro was at $1.3006 from $1.3039 late Thursday.