- The S&P 500 tumbled nearly 1.5% and the Nasdaq 100 is down more than 2.5% after hawkish Fed minutes.
- Though Fed’s Waller jawboned about QT in December, markets seemed surprised by the support for a sooner, faster start.
US equity markets are tumbling across the board, though the pain is concentrated most heavily in big tech, so-called growth, and real-estate names, pretty much those sectors most sensitive to a rise in US bond yields. The catalyst for the downside was the latest Fed minutes release, which seemed to catch a number of market participants off guard with regards to its hawkishness on the prospect for quantitative tightening and rate hikes in this year. To summarise, the minutes mostly echoed Powell’s remarks following the Fed’s hawkish December policy shift (where the QE taper pace was doubled and the dot-plot pointed to three 2022 hikes). But markets were surprised by the extent to which meeting participants agreed with the notion that quantitative tightening (where the Fed reduces it balance sheet) should start sooner and proceed faster than in past cycles.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% as index heavyweights Apple (-1.8%), Microsoft (-3.0%), Alphabet (-3.7%), Facebook (-2.9%), Netflix (-3.3%), Telsa (-3.9%) and others tumbled. The index broke below a key area of support around 4750 and is now probing the 4720 mark, where it trades at its lowest since before Christmas. Losses in the aforementioned big tech/growth stock names were primarily as a result of US bond yields breaking higher, particularly at the short to medium end, in anticipation of a higher Fed rate path in the coming years. Remember that these stocks disproportionately derive their value from expectations for future earnings growth rather than current earnings, so when “opportunity cost” (which bond yields are a proxy for) on betting on future earnings growth rather than present earnings goes up, these stocks fall.
Stocks in sectors seen as more defensive in nature, such as in health care, consumer staples, utilities and telecoms held up better. Many of these stocks are also often classed as “value” stocks, i.e. stocks whose value is based more on present earnings rather than future, leaving them less vulnerable to a rise in bond yields. For reference, the S&P 500 health care index was down just 0.3%, consumer staples was up 0.2%, utilities was up 0.3%, whilst telecoms was up more than 2.0%. Despite higher yields, the S&P 500 financials index was still down 0.7%. As a result of the underperformance of tech and growth names disproportionately represented in the Nasdaq 100, the index tumbled over 2.5% to the 15.8K area, where it now trades lower by nearly 3.0% on the week. Meanwhile, the Dow also tumbled 0.6% to test the 36.5K mark, with its losses comparatively mild given its higher weighting towards the aforementioned sectors that are holding up a little better.
Note: All information on this page is subject to change. The use of this website constitutes acceptance of our user agreement. Please read our privacy policy and legal disclaimer. Opinions expressed at FXstreet.com are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of FXstreet.com or its management. Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
Recommended content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD nears 1.0800 on broad US Dollar weakness
Optimism continues to undermine demand for the American currency ahead of the weekly close. EUR/USD hovers around weekly highs just ahead of the 1.0900 figure.
GBP/USD reconquers 1.2500 with upbeat UK GDP
Following BOE-inspired slump on Thursday, the British Pound changed course and trades around 1.2530. Better-than-anticipated UK GDP and a weaker USD behind the advance.
Gold resumes advance and trades above $2,370
XAU/USD accelerated its recovery on Friday, as investors drop the USD. Dismal US employment-related figures revived hopes for a soon-to-come rate cut from the Fed.
XRP tests support at $0.50 as Ripple joins alliance to work on blockchain recovery
XRP trades around $0.5174 early on Friday, wiping out gains from earlier in the week, as Ripple announced it has joined an alliance to support digital asset recovery alongside Hedera and the Algorand Foundation.
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.4% in April 2024
Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.4% in April 2024, stable compared to March. Looking at the main components of euro area inflation, services is expected to have the highest annual rate in April.