Wall Street: Dow Jones has worst month since March 2020

September was a horrible month for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down nearly 9%, its worst monthly drop since March 2020, when pandemic lockdowns began in the United States. The index ended this Friday (30) deep in the red as well.

The Dow, a widely watched barometer of the US stock market that includes corporate giants like Apple, Coca-Cola, Disney, Microsoft and Walmart, is down about 500 points, or 1.7%. All 30 Dow stocks ended the day lower.

Concerns over rising inventory levels in the Dow Nike component pushed blue chips lower on Friday. Nike shares tumbled 13% as investors worried about the need to take deep discounts on sneakers and other sportswear.

The Dow is down more than 5% in the third quarter and is now down about 20% this year, putting it in a bear market. The Dow is trading near its lowest levels since November 2020.

The S&P 500, which was down 1.5% on Friday, is down nearly 9% in September and down nearly 24% in 2022. That puts the index on track for its worst annual decline since 2008. The Nasdaq Composite is also down 1, 5%. Friday and dropped nearly 10% this month. The drop is more than 30% this year.

Some market experts are hopeful that the worst could be over soon for equities, given the intensity of the sell-off. But investors remain nervous about the economy and earnings.

Inflation prompted the Federal Reserve to sharply raise interest rates. This could eventually slow down consumer and business spending. Concerns about a recession are growing.

The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which measures seven indicators of Wall Street sentiment, is showing levels of extreme fear. And there were no safe havens for investors to weather the market storm. Bonds, gold and bitcoin also dropped in 2022.