US stocks tumble to 13-month low as longer-term inflation worries rise

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - US stocks sank to a 13-month low Monday in panic selling amid worries over whether the Federal Reserve would be able to halt ever-increasing inflation without sending the economy into a recession.

While uncertainties over the Russia-Ukraine war continued, the lack of any relaxation in China's "zero tolerance" COVID-19 policy and the tightening of measures in the country’s financial center, Shanghai, raised concerns that global inflationary pressures would rise.

Meanwhile, US consumers predict that prices in three years will be higher compared with a month ago, according to data released Monday.

Last week's selloff started on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 50 basis points and signaled that more rate hikes are on the table in coming meetings.

The Fed's hawkish stance and aggressive monetary tightening are viewed by investors as factors that could trigger a recession in the world's largest economy.

The big question is whether inflation can head below 3% without the Fed causing a recession

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 653.67 points, or 2%, to 32,245.70 while the S&P 500 fell 132.10 points, or 3.20%, to 3,991. 24.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 521.41 points, or 4.29%, to 11,623.25.

The MSCI World index fell 3.1%.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries diminished 10 basis points to 3.03%.

Gold futures fell 1.6% to $1,852.70 an ounce, while silver slid to $21.73, a 2.9% decline.

Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $105 a barrel, down 6.5%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $102.28 -- a 6.8% loss.

The price of Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency market by trade volume, dove below $33,000 earlier to mark its lowest level since July 2021.