US: Dow, S&P fall again, ending at lowest level of year

WALL Street stocks fell again on Monday as major indices slumped to their lowest level of 2022 amid market fallout from central bank policy pivots to address inflation.

“Financial markets are a mess,” said Oanda’s Edward Moya, alluding to turbulence in the foreign exchange markets that has boosted the dollar.

“Wall Street is realising that we won’t be seeing a significant sign that inflation is easing fast enough in the next couple of months and that should make it tough to buy the dip just yet.”

After last week’s rout, US indices climbed early in the session before falling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 1.1 per cent at 29,260.81.

The broad-based S&P 600 shed 1.0 per cent to 3,655.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.6 per cent to 10,802.92.

Monday was the lowest close of 2022 for both the Dow and S&P 500.

The S&P 500 also dropped nearly 5 per cent last week after the Federal Reserve announced another big hike in interest rates, spurring rate moves from the Bank of England and other central banks.

The aggressive moves by central banks have weighed on equities, with many investors now seeing increased odds of a recession.

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Still, some analysts consider the stock market to be “oversold” in the short-run.

Given that backdrop, CFRA Research “thinks the S&P 500 and its constituent sectors and sub-industries are ripe for a relief rally,” said a note from Chief Investment Strategist Sam Stovall. “The only question is whether the rally will have legs or get sold into.” AFP