US stocks sustain worst losses in over 50 years

NEW YORK, 2nd July, 2022 (WAM) — The US stock market is reeling from its worst first half of any year since 1970, with investors girding for a series of potential flashpoints in July that may set Wall Street’s course for the coming months, Reuters reported.

Second-quarter corporate earnings, hotly anticipated US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting are among potentially pivotal events after the S&P 500 fell 20.6% in the initial six months of 2022.

For now, the mood on Wall Street is grim. Bonds, which investors count on to offset stock declines, have tumbled alongside equities, with the ICE BofA Treasury Index on pace for its worst year in the index’s history. Some 90% of respondents in a recent Deutsche Bank survey expected a U.S. recession by the end of 2023.

The key factor behind the turmoil in markets is the Fed, which has been rapidly tightening monetary policy to fight the highest inflation in decades following almost two years of emergency measures that helped buoy stocks and stoke growth.