US stocks lose $9tn in 2022 as Fed tightening spooks investors

• US stocks lose $9tn in 2022 as investors flee the world’s largest equity market.
• Fed’s efforts to reign in out-of-control inflation spooks investors.
•  S&P 500 index has declined 21.2% in 2022, on track for worst first-half performance since 1962.

This year, US stocks have lost more than $9tn as investors flee the world’s largest equity market in response to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reign in out-of-control inflation and rising fears over global growth.

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The market value of the S&P 1500 index, a broad indicator of the US stock market, fell from $45.8tn at the end of 2021 to $36.6tn at the closing bell on Wall Street on Wednesday, according to statistics from Bloomberg.

The benchmark S&P 500 index, which measures the performance of the 500 largest U.S. corporations, has declined 21.2% in 2022, putting it on track for its worst first-half performance since 1962.

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During the first few minutes of trade in New York, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%, bringing its year-to-date loss to just under 30%.

All S&P sectors have declined over the first half of the year, with the exception of energy stocks, which are 31% higher. Consumer discretionary stocks have declined the most, down 33%. Utility stocks, which are viewed as a buffer against inflation due to corporations’ greater ability to pass on increasing costs to consumers, have fallen the least this year, down 3.6%.