Last Updated on June 30, 2022
Stocks are set to wrap up their worst first half of a year since 1970 as inflation remains at a 40-year-high. The S&P 500 is down nearly 18% this year, its worst first half since 1970, according to the Dow Jones Market Data Group. 2022 will ultimately rank as the fifth-worst first half on record.
Technology stocks have been getting hammered particularly hard. The Nasdaq Composite’s slide-tracking has the sector down 26% in the first half of 2022, its worst first half on record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down the least, off 13.5%, the worst first half since 2008, according to Fox Business.
“I think there is a very real risk of a recession, it is perhaps inevitable we do have an economic downturn before 2024,” economic analyst John Lonski told Fox Business.
Stocks are falling as the prospect of a recession is making investors anxious.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently said that the U.S. economy is actually in “strong shape” and believes the nation can avoid a recession. A growing number of Americans do not share this view, however.
According to a recent CAPS/Harris poll, 56% of likely voters said their financial situation was “worsening” as of May. 49% of respondents believed the U.S. was “likely” to enter a recession in the near future, while another 36% believe the U.S. is already in the midst of an economic downturn.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.75 basis points earlier this month in an effort to contain inflation. Additional rate hikes are expected when the central bank meets again in July.
