US stocks sink again, as S&P 500 enters ‘bear market’

• Stocks on Wall Street fell early Monday, plunging into a “bear market” in anticipation.
• The market’s current losses, follow three straight-down sessions.
• About 35 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 was at 3,796.66, down 2.7.

Stocks on Wall Street fell early Monday, plunging into a “bear market” in anticipation of additional Federal Reserve monetary tightening this week in response to runaway inflation.

The market’s current losses, which follow three straight down sessions, have pushed the S&amp 500 into a bear market, which is defined as a 20% drop from a market peak.

About 35 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 was at 3,796.66, down 2.7 from Friday’s session and off more than 21 percent from January.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.1 percent to 30,746.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 3.2 percent to 10,972.92.

US equities have been on the shaky ground throughout 2022, as central banks shift abruptly from easy money policies to aggressive tightening through phased-out stimulus programs and higher interest rates.

Friday’s US inflation report has exacerbated this dynamic, undermining hopes that pricing pressures have peaked, or are peaking, and raising the possibility for even more aggressive rate hikes from Washington.

“The March report was believed to have been the peak in this inflation cycle, but the May headline CPI reading is now the highest since late 1982,” said a note from CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall, which cautioned about the report’s “hawkish implications” for the Fed.

Individual firms climbed 1.0 percent after agreeing to be acquired for $26 billion by logistics real estate firm Prologis. Prologis’ stock dropped 7.1%.

Read More: US stocks begin June on positive note