Manama, Wall Street is shifting into reverse Thursday, giving up much of the big gains it made a day earlier on relief that the Federal Reserve wouldn’t be as aggressive as some feared in raising interest rates to fight inflation.
The sharp reversal follows the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to raise its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point as it tries to tackle persistently high inflation.
The central bank also reassured investors that it wasn’t considering even bigger rate hikes in the coming months, reports AP.
The S&P 500 fell 2.6% as of 10:23 a.m. Eastern. The benchmark index climbed 3% on Wednesday for its best day since May 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 691 points, or 2%, to 33,370 and the Nasdaq fell 3.7%.
Every major index still remains on track for solid weekly gains following Wednesday’s rally.
Bond yields rose significantly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.03% from 2.92% late Wednesday, reaching its highest levels since late 2018.
Technology companies had some of the biggest losses and weighed down the broader market, in a reversal from the solid gains they made a day earlier. Apple fell 3.4% and Microsoft fell 3.9%.
Internet retail giant Amazon slumped 6.4% and Google’s parent company fell 4.3%.
Energy stocks held up better than the rest of the market as U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.4%. Energy markets remain volatile and demand remains high amid tight supplies of oil.
Higher oil and gas prices have been contributing to the uncertainties weighing on investors as they try to assess how inflation will ultimately impact businesses, consumer activity and overall economic growth.
The Fed’s aggressive shift to raise interest rates has investors worrying about whether it can pull off the delicate dance to slow the economy enough to halt high inflation but not so much as to cause a downturn. The pace and size of interest rate increases is being scrutinized.
Source: Bahrain News Agency