It's the Worst First Half of a Year Since 1970

Stock market misery continues
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 30, 2022 3:09 PM CDT
It's the Worst First Half of a Year Since 1970
The New York Stock Exchange is having a year to forget.   (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Stocks fell yet again on Thursday to cap their worst quarter since the early days of the pandemic, per the AP. Worse, the benchmark S&P 500 has now logged its worst first half to a year since 1970, down about 20% since January, reports the Wall Street Journal. For the day, the S&P fell 33 points to 3,785, the Dow fell 253 points to 30,775, and the Nasdaq fell 149 points to 11,028. Only the Nasdaq's daily loss exceeded 1%. Retailers and other companies that rely directly on consumer spending were posting some of the biggest losses, as they have all year. Amazon slipped 2.4% and Best Buy shed 2%.

Rising inflation has been behind much of the slump for the broader market this year as businesses raise prices on everything from food to clothing and consumers are squeezed tighter. Inflation remains stubbornly hot, according to a series of recent economic updates. The Federal Reserve and other central banks have been aggressively raising interest rates to try and slow economic growth in order to cool inflation. “We had the unprecedented pandemic that shut the world down and the unprecedented response, both fiscal and monetary,” Stephanie Lang of Homrich Berg tells CNBC. “It created the perfect storm with regard to surging demand and supply chain disruptions, and now there’s inflation that we haven’t seen in decades and a Fed that was caught off guard.”

(More stock market stories.)

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