- Fears of an economic slowdown weakened confidence, prompting a flight to safe-haven assets such as bonds.
- An Asia-pacific equities index fell 2%, owing to losses in Japan and Chinese technology companies. Following a 4% collapse in the S&P 500 index, the worst daily drop in over two years, US and European futures retreated.
- High inflation is hurting profits and consumer spending, according to earnings reports from US consumer staples. Target plunged to its lowest level since Black Monday in 1987, a day after Walmart also plummeted.
- Officials from the Fed confirmed that tighter monetary policy will be needed to cool economic activity and bring pricing pressures under control. Increasing interest rates slightly over the neutral level and stopping there, according to Fed's Evans, should help bring inflation down.
- Treasuries rose, Australian bonds rose, and the dollar remained steady. China's Covid lockdowns are also causing market turbulence, keeping oil near $110 a barrel following a drop this week due to demand concerns.
