Robert Besser
03 Jul 2022, 09:18 GMT+10
NEW YORK CITY, New York: After the first six months of 2022, the S&P 500 recorded a loss of 20.6 percent, shedding some $8.5 trillion in market value, its steepest first-half decline since 1970.
Earlier this month, the index closed down over 20 percent from its January record peak, confirming the common definition of a bear market.
Bonds also fared badly, with the ICE BofA Treasury Index being some 10 percent down this year, in line with the worst year in its history going back to 1997.
Amidst concerns that the Fed's efforts to curb inflation could potentially bring the U.S. economy into recession, investors see little respite, and the index's slide has pummeled many high-performing shares that prospered in recent years.
One such casualty is Cathie Wood's ARK Innovation ETF, which is down some 58 percent year-to-date.
The downturn in equities also severely tested the popular strategy of buying stocks on weakness, which rewarded investors for the better part of the last decade, but has not been successful this year.
Another popular approach that has failed in 2022 is the "60/40 portfolio" containing both stocks and bonds, which has been affected by expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve Bank, which has weighed on both asset classes. Since the start of the year, the BlackRock 60/40 Target Allocation fund is down some 16 percent, its worst performance since its launch in 2006.
Amidst central bank actions and surging geopolitical tensions, the first half of the year saw volatility return to global financial markets, with stocks, bonds and currencies all being affected.
Until there is an indication that inflation is stabilizing, allowing the Fed to slow or end its monetary policy tightening, few believe the wild swings in markets will end soon.
Get a daily dose of Pakistan Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Pakistan Telegraph.
More InformationSPENCER, Massachusetts: Spencer, Massachusetts Fire Chief Robert Parsons has said that a June 2 fire that burned down a 160-year-old ...
MOSCOW, Russia: Journalists from countries that are "unfriendly" to Russia will be banned from covering this year's St. Petersburg International ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Landowners in California participated this week in a class organized by the El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn ...
RAMALLAH, Wet Bank - A two-and-a-half-year-old Palestinian boy shot in the head by Israeli troops has died in hospitalThe boy, ...
NEWARK, New Jersey: Six years after his 2016 presidential campaign failed to succeed, Chris Christie, former New Jersey Governor, will ...
TOKYO, Japan: To counter the declining national birthrate, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to double spending over the next ...
MENLO PARK, California: Facebook parent Meta has said that under a trial that could last through the end of June, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Biden administration is expected to approve a deal allowing General Electric to assemble jet engines in India ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan and the United States are set to sign the first deal under a new trade framework, marking ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks started the week under pressure on Monday. "Markets are catching their breath after ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: A JPMorgan Chase & Co spokesperson has confirmed that as part of the bank's efforts ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Pentagon said this week that the satellite communications service started by billionaire Elon Musk, SpaceX's Starlink, has ...