Stocks, bonds fall after hawkish Brainard remarks
BNN Bloomberg
U.S. equities and bonds fell as traders weighed hawkish Federal Reserve commentary and a potential ban on Russian coal by the European Union, ratcheting up global tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. equities and bonds fell as traders weighed hawkish Federal Reserve commentary and a potential ban on Russian coal by the European Union, ratcheting up global tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The S&P 500 declined, led by losses in technology and consumer discretionary, while Treasuries also retreated amid deepening concern about inflation and the policy response. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said the U.S. central bank will continue to tighten policy methodically and shrink its balance sheet at a rapid pace as soon as May.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose for a third day to a three-year high, with the spotlight remaining on inverted yield curves that may signal an economic downturn, should the Fed tighten aggressively to quell price increases.
“There’s lots of uncertainty about what’s going to happen next in a slew of areas pertinent to investing, including whether the U.S. economy is heading for a recession, how high inflation will go and what the Fed will do about it,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, said in a note. “The many unknowns have made for a volatile stock market so far this year.”
Market moves continue to be shaped by the ramifications of the war in Ukraine and tightening monetary policy as raw-material costs stoke inflation.
