Wall Street plummets as Fed declares aggressive measures
US stocks fell on Tuesday, with Big Tech falling more than 2% after Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard indicated the central bank will not hesitate to use aggressive rate rises to rein in runaway inflation.
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Wall Street plummets as Fed raise interest rates to combat inflation
US stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with Big Tech losing more than 2% after Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said the central bank had no hesitation using heavy rate hikes to bring runaway inflation under control.
The three major stock indexes on Wall Street, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite, all sank 1.4 percent on average.
Nasdaq, which contains the world's top tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google, led losses, falling 328 points, or 2.3 percent, to 14,204.
Craig Erlam, an analyst in OANDA, the online trading platform, stated that "Given the risks that lie ahead, and the impact of higher inflation, it's clear that the risks for the data in the coming months are firmly tilted to the downside."
Brainard vowed to bring inflation back to the Federal Reserve’s so-called neutral target of 2% later this year, after it grew 6.4% in the 12 months to February.
Brainard is waiting for confirmation as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and has said that the impact of rate hikes and balance-sheet reductions "will move monetary policy closer to neutral later this year," adding that "Inflation is too high. High inflation burdens all Americans. Lowering inflation is our most essential duty. We must also sustain the recovery to include everyone."
Read more: The US is running out of money, literally (Part I)
On March 16, the US Federal Reserve authorized its first rate rise since the epidemic, boosting rates by 25 basis points, or a quarter percentage point. Since then, several of its policymakers have stated that the March rise was too mild, and that additional forceful hikes of 50 basis points, or half a percentage point, may be required. This year, the Federal Reserve may make up to seven rate changes.
Aside from maintaining rates around zero for nearly two years previous to its March rate rise, the Federal Reserve acquired $120 billion in bonds and assets per month throughout that time to bolster the economy. These asset purchases, along with others, have added $4 trillion to the central bank's so-called balance sheet, which currently stands at roughly $8.5 trillion. Officials at the Federal Reserve intend to considerably reduce that figure as well.
"I expect the balance sheet to shrink much faster than in prior recovery," according to Brainard. "After policy becomes more neutral, the extent of additional tightening will be determined by the changing inflation and employment outlooks."
The S&P 500 - which groups the top 500 US stocks - saw the second largest dip in Wall Street’s indexes, finishing down 55 points, or 1.2%, at 4,528, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes firms in travel, aviation, and cross-industry value, fell 281 points, or 0.8 percent, to 34,641.
