Wall Street retreats as rate hike concerns persist
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[August 30, 2022] By
Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed
lower on Monday, adding to last week's sharp losses on nagging concerns
about the Federal Reserve's determination to aggressively hike interest
rates to fight inflation even as the economy slows.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday the U.S. economy would need tight
monetary policy "for some time" before inflation is under control,
dashing hopes the Fed might pivot to more subdued rate hikes after
recent data suggested price pressures were peaking.
The S&P 500 recovered from session lows that put it down 1% at the
lowest in a month, but the benchmark index still notched its biggest
two-day percentage decline in 2-1/2 months.
"Friday’s selloff was frankly overdone, I know (Powell) said he was
going to play tough with inflation but it is honestly not that much
different than what he has been saying for the last several weeks, he
was a little more hawkish but I mean, geez, who is surprised by that,
really?" said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives
for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
"I don’t see a whole lot of up or downside here in the near term, I see
a lot of volatility and that is probably going to be the case at the
very least until we get past the September 21 rate hike."
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.41 points, or 0.57%, to
32,098.99, the S&P 500 lost 27.05 points, or 0.67%, to 4,030.61 and the
Nasdaq Composite dropped 124.04 points, or 1.02%, to 12,017.67.
Megacap technology and growth stocks such as Apple Inc, off 1.37%, and
Microsoft Corp, down 1.07% were among the biggest drags on the index as
Treasury yields rose.
The CBOE's volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, hit a seven-week
high of 27.67 points.
Money market traders are pricing in a 72.5% chance of a 75-basis-point
interest rate hike at the Fed's September meeting, which would be the
third straight hike of that magnitude. They expect the Fed funds rate to
end the year at about 3.7%.
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Traders work on the floor of the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 22, 2022.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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The two-year Treasury yield, which is particularly sensitive to interest rate
expectations, briefly touched a 15-year high, while the closely watched yield
curve measured by the gap between two and 10-year yields remained firmly
inverted.
An inversion is considered by many to be a reliable signal of a looming
recession.
Economic data this week is highlighted by the August nonfarm payrolls report due
on Friday. Any signs of a slowdown in the labor market might take pressure off
the Fed to continue with outsized rate hikes.
The S&P 500 climbed nearly 11% since mid-June through Friday's close. It
recently found support just above its 50-day moving average, although it remains
well below its 200-day moving average. Despite the rebound, some investors
remain worried as September approaches due to the historical weakness for stocks
during the month and the anticipated hike from the Fed.
Energy stocks, up 1.54% were a bright spot as crude prices jumped about 4% on
possible OPEC+ output cuts and conflict in Libya.
Bristol Myers Squibb slid 6.24% after its drug candidate for preventing ischemia
strokes missed the main goal in a mid-stage trial.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.36 billion shares, compared with the 10.59
billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.19-to-1 ratio; on
Nasdaq, a 2.20-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite
recorded 28 new highs and 199 new lows.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)
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