U.S. stock-index futures plunged Sunday, after Wall Street sank Friday following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the fight against stubborn inflation would continue, and be painful.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
fell more than 200 points, or 0.7%, right out of the gate Sunday, while S&P 500 futures
ES00,
and Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
dove about 1% each.
Speaking Friday at Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell said the Fed is committed to taming inflation, which is at 40-year-highs. “While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses,” he said. He added that the Fed has an “overarching focus right now to bring inflation back down to our 2% goal.”
Powell also kept the door open for a 75-basis-point interest-rate hike in September, even if the next inflation report is softer than feared.
That disappointed Wall Street, which had been holding out hope for a dovish “Fed pivot.”
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
plunged 1,008.38 points, or 3%, to close at 32,283.40, in its largest percentage drop since May 18. The S&P 500
SPX,
dropped 141.46 points, or 3.4%, to finish at 4,057.66, in its biggest percentage decline since June 13, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
tumbled 497.56 points, or 3.9%, to end at 12,141.71, in its largest percentage drop since June 16.
Powell’s comments also sent cryptocurrencies tumbling, with bitcoin
BTCUSD,
dropping below $20,000 for the first time in about a month.
Meanwhile, crude prices
CL.1,
fell slightly, to about $92.67 a barrel Sunday evening.
