Financial System Articles

Last week stocks recorded a second week of pronounced losses after Federal Reserve policymakers revealed that they expected official short-term interest rates to continue going sharply higher over the next several months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 400 Midcap Index fell to new intraday lows in late 2020, while the S&P 500 Index, small-cap Russell 2000 Index and Nasdaq Composite managed to stay slightly above their bottoms in mid-June 2022.

Last week, stocks fell sharply as inflation fears intensified and short-term bond yields reached levels last seen in 2007. The S&P 500 Index recorded its most significant weekly drop since mid-June and hit its lowest point on an intraday basis since mid-July. Growth stocks fared worst, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite falling nearly 5.5%. Communication services and information technology shares led the declines within the S&P 500 as Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta Platforms hit new 52-week lows. Industrials and materials shares were also fragile.

Last week stocks broke a string of three weekly losses as investors appeared to grow more confident that the market had reached at least a temporary bottom after surrendering about half of its summer rally.

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks finished lower as investors continued to digest the implications of hawkish messages from Federal Reserve officials. The S&P 500 Index extended the daily losing streak that began with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s August 26 speech...

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks moved sharply lower—if in a week of primarily light summer trading—as investors became less optimistic that the Federal Reserve would be able to tame inflation without causing a significant economic slowdown. Technology and other...

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks gave back a portion of the month’s substantial gains after a prominent “hawkish” Federal Reserve policymaker appeared to dampen hopes that inflationary pressures had peaked. The growth-oriented technology and communication services...

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks rallied after data showed signs that inflation, while still elevated on an annualized basis, had started to slow, supporting the view that the rise in consumer prices may have peaked. Federal Reserve officials reiterated that the...

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks were mixed as a much stronger-than-expected jobs report revived investor concerns that the Federal Reserve will need to maintain an aggressive pace of interest rate hikes to tamp down high inflation. The Nasdaq Composite. Russell...

Last Week In ReviewLast week, stocks posted solid gains despite another outsized 75-basis-point rate hike from the Federal Reserve and news that the economy contracted at a 0.9% annual rate in the second quarter. The “bad news is good news” dynamic appeared to have...

Last Week In ReviewStocks remained volatile last week in light summer trading as investors absorbed inflation data and the first major second-quarter corporate earnings reports. Last Thursday morning, the S&P 500 Index touched its lowest intraday level since June...

Last Week In ReviewLast week the major indexes surrendered a portion of the previous week’s substantial gains as worries grew that the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation would push the economy into recession. The S&P 500 Index closed out its worst first...