US stocks meltdown continues on rate hike fears, tech indicator Nasdaq at 2.5-year low
May 09, 2022
New York [US], May 9 (ANI/Sputnik): The selloff on Wall Street showed little signs of slowing on Monday as US tech stocks hit two-and-half-year lows on fears that the Federal Reserve might send the economy into recession by embarking on the highest rate hike in three decades.
The Nasdaq Composite Index -- one of the three major US stock indices which groups top technology names such as Facebook (banned in Russia as an extremist organization), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google -- was down 3.3% by 11:15 a.m. ET (15:15 GMT), hovering at just under 11,750. It earlier fell to as low as 11,714, marking a bottom since November 2020. Nasdaq is already down 5% for May, extending April's 13% selloff. Year-to-date, the tech barometer has lost 25%.
Nasdaq aside, the S&P 500 Index for the top 500 US stocks was down 2.3%. It showed a decline of 3% for May and a year-to-date slide of 16%.
The broad-based Dow Jones Industrial Average Index was off by 1.7%, registering a May decline of 2% and year-to-date fall of 11%.
Wall Street's anemic performance came as central bank officials at the Federal Reserve debated on whether the next US rate hike should be 75 basis points, with some saying that would be excessive while others argued that it might be necessary to stop runaway inflation. The last time the Fed raised rates by 75 basis points was in 1994.
Money markets traders have already priced in a 79% probability of a 75-bps hike at the Fed's upcoming June 14-15 meeting -- after last week's 50-bps increase at its May meeting, which in itself was the largest in 20 years. (ANI/Sputnik)
