The S&P 500 index, representing the top 500 US stocks, closed down almost 2%, declining for a third day in a row. For the year, the Wall Street benchmark was down 20%. The S&P was also down 21% from its January record high of 4,818. By general market definition, any asset or index that is down 20% from its most recent peak is categorized as being in a bear market.
The Nasdaq Composite, which comprises marquee technology names such as Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, was the outlier of the three indices, also fell 1% on the day. For the year, the tech barometer was down 28%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, comprising stocks of 30 large US corporations, fell 0.6% on the day. For the year, it was down 15%.
US inflation has been persistently running at four-decade highs since late last year, with the closely-watched CPI growing at an annualized rate of 8.6% as of May. The June update, due on Wednesday, is expected to show a 8.8% increase.
The Federal Reserve’s tolerance for inflation is 2% per year and the central bank has vowed to raise interest rates as much as necessary to achieve that.
“The June inflation report will be a scorcher and help cement market expectations that the Fed will deliver another massive rate hike at the Fed policy meeting at the end of the month,” Ed Moya, analyst at online trading platform OANDA, said.
Many economists has said the Federal Reserve kept rates “too low for too long” and could push the United States into a recession in its fight to bring inflation under control quickly.
US gross domestic product already declined 1.6% in the first quarter. A negative second quarter GDP is all that is decided to send it into recession.