Concerns over economic growth in the world’s two largest economies led to a free fall in Wall Street today, with the tech Nasdaq plunging 4% – the biggest drop since September 8, 2020 – and the industrial Dow to lose more than 800 points.
The market climate continues to be plagued by fears of a major slowdown in the Chinese economy – the world’s second largest – amid global lockdowns to halt Covid-19. The Chinese government’s zero-sum policy is hurting supply chains at the same time, sparking new inflationary pressures as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues unabated, boosting energy prices.
At the same time, investors are preparing for one of the most aggressive US monetary tightening campaigns in decades, as the Federal Reserve takes action to tackle higher inflation in four decades. Analysts no longer rule out the possibility that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its next meeting in May, instead of a softer increase by 25 basis points.
Indicators – Statistics
On the board, the Dow Jones lost 809.28 points or -2.38% and slipped to 33,240.18 points, while the broader S&P 500 fell 120.92 points or -2.81% to 4,175.20 points. The technology Nasdaq fell by 514.11 points or -3.95% and closed at 12,490.74 points.
All 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average fell. The three stocks with the biggest losses were Nike (-5.8%), Boeing (-5.04%) and Visa (-4.22%).
At the end of the day, the data released today showed that consumer confidence fell in April, with the relevant index of the Conference Board slipping to 107.3 points from the upward revised measure of 107.6 points in March.
Analysts’ average estimates in a Bloomberg poll put the index at 108.2 points.
At the same time, orders for industrial goods increased by 0.8% in March, after falling 1.7% last month, according to data released today by the country’s Ministry of Commerce.
Finally, the housing price index in 20 US metropolitan areas jumped 20.2% in February from a year earlier, after rising 18.9% year-on-year in January, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.
At the national level, prices increased by 19.8%. This is the third largest increase in the history of the research that counts 35 years, according to Craig Lazzara of the S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Source: Capital
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
