Stocks Fall Into Bear Market Territory As Market Continues Freefall

The S&P 500 tumbled into bear market territory in early trading on Monday (June 13). Stocks finished the day down across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by over 876 points and the NASDAQ 530 points in the red.

The S&P was down by 151 points, falling to its lowest level since March 2021 and down over 20% from its peak in January. It is the second time that the S&P 500 has fallen into bear market territory in the past month.

The downturn follows a brutal week for stocks, which saw their biggest weekly declines since January, as traders grow concerned that rising inflation will send the economy into recession. Most of those losses came on Friday when the Department of Labor released data showing an 8.6% spike in the consumer price index.

Investors are also keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve, which is set to begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday to discuss a third interest rate increase. Most economists expect the fed to raise the interest rate by at least half a point on Wednesday.

“Investor and consumer sentiment both have soured. But this time, pervasive bearishness may not be as useful a contrarian bullish signal as in the past,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, wrote in a note to investors, according to CNBC.