US stocks have their worst first half in 50 years

• US stocks have their worst first half in more than 50 years.
• Fed’s attempt to stop inflation and worries about global growth blamed.
• S&P 500 index has lost 20.6% in first half of 2022, Nasdaq Composite has lost about 30% this year.

The first half of the year for US stocks was the worst in more than 50 years. This was caused by the Federal Reserve’s attempt to stop persistent inflation and made worse by growing worries about global growth.

The S&P 500 sank 0.9% on Thursday, bringing the decline for the blue-chip index in the first half of 2022 to 20.6%. Wall Street stocks have not experienced such a brutal start to a year since 1970 when a recession ended the longest stretch of the economic boom in U.S. history.

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According to data from Bloomberg on the S&P 1500 index, a broad measure that monitors small, mid, and large-cap groupings, the market value of US equities has been reduced by more than $9tn since the end of 2021.

“The market mood is dominated by the possibility of recessions in the US and Europe,” said Bastien Drut, strategist at Paris-based asset manager CPR. “It is very negative,” he cautioned, adding that the days of relying on central banks to ease monetary policy to boost economic growth were “gone.”

Read More: Central bank heads declare end of an era of low rates moderate inflation

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has also declined this year, falling 1.3% on Thursday to bring its 2022 losses to about 30%.