The benchmark S&P 500 index suffered its sixth decline in seven sessions. Stocks had risen on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced an aggressive 75 basis point rate hike, as expected, helping the index snap its longest daily losing streak since early January.
However, Thursday’s rate hikes by the central banks of Switzerland and Britain reignited fears that attempts by central banks to curb inflation could trigger a sharp slowdown in global growth or a recession.
“That’s what people are reassessing today: what is the likelihood of a possible recession and whether corporate profits will hit analysts’ estimates or decline,” he said. said Tom Hainlin, global investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management’s Ascent Private Wealth group.
“The Swiss came out and surprised everyone today and said that we are less concerned about the strength of our currency and more concerned about inflation.”
According to preliminary data, The S&P 500 lost 121.87 points, or 3.2%, to 3,668.12, while the Nasdaq lost 448.28 points, or 4%, to 10,650.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 727.65 points, or 2.4%, to 29,940.88.
All 11 major S&P sectors fell, but the defensive consumer staples sector suffered less than the broader market as stocks including WalMart, General Mills and Procter & Gamble rose.
The growth values were strongly affected, with a fall of close to 4% in the index that groups them together.
The S&P 500 index has plunged about 23% so far this year and recently confirmed the start of a bear market.
Source: Ambito

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