- In the final hour of trading on Monday, stocks dropped back to session lows as investors examined the latest signals of economic gloom in the United States and China.
- The S&P 500 index fell, pulled down by a dip in megacap stocks such as Tesla, Amazon, and Apple. The Nasdaq 100 index, which is heavily weighted in technology, fell by over 1%. In a seesaw session, equities markets gave up previous gains when statistics showed that China's industrial output and consumer expenditure fell to their lowest levels since the epidemic began, owing to covid lockdowns. Manufacturing activity in New York State unexpectedly fell in May, raising fears of a slowing economy that might complicate the Federal Reserve's policy decisions.
- New York City is likely to hit a high COVID-transmission level in the next days, prompting it to reassess mask restrictions in public areas, adding to those growing concerns.
- Markets are nonetheless concerned about the possibility of an economic slump due to price pressures and rising borrowing costs. Lloyd Blankfein, senior chairman of Goldman Sachs, warned businesses and consumers to prepare for a US recession, calling it a "very, very high danger." While the US market is pricing in a 40% chance of a recession, according to a report by UBS Group AG, the S&P 500 has historically rallied in the absence of the worst case scenario.
- Twitter shares plummeted on Monday, wiping out all of the gains the firm had achieved since Elon Musk revealed his stake in the social media platform. Jetblue Airways made a hostile $3.3 billion cash offer for Spirit Airlines, appealing directly to shareholders to beat out a competing offer. For the first time in two years, Verizon Communications wants to boost wireless bill pricing. McDonald's has announced that it will exit Russia after more than 30 years of operations, with a $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion write-off.
- Cryptocurrencies fell as stock market sentiment deteriorated. This brought bitcoin back to roughly $30,000.
