- US stocks rose on Friday as traders digested remarks from Federal Reserve governors, who repeated that the central bank must do more to combat the highest inflation rate in 40 years.
- Despite the fact that the S&P 500 gained on Friday, it ended the week at its lowest level since December 2020, as investors wrestled with a flood of news that heightened recession fears. The Nasdaq 100, which is heavily weighted in technology, soared. Triple witching, a quarterly event, took place on Friday. So far, the $3.5 trillion options expiry has seen no downside volatility.
- Treasury yields increased across the curve, with 10-year levels lingering around 3.2%.
- The dollar ended a two-day losing streak.
- Markets ended a week marked by interest-rate hikes, including the largest move by the Federal Reserve since 1994, a surprise hike by the Swiss National Bank, and the latest increase in UK borrowing prices. The rate hikes are sapping liquidity and causing losses across the board. Traders are still evaluating the federal reserve's rate hike path and the impact it might have on the economy.
- On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the central bank is "acutely focused" on getting inflation back to 2%, and that another 75-basis-point or 50-basis-point raise is expected at the July meeting. President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, George, said she opposed the Fed's decision on Wednesday because it generates uncertainty about the outlook when combined with the central bank's declining balance sheet.
- Factory production figures from the United States for May indicated that demand was cooling as output unexpectedly fell. Meanwhile, industrial production increased in May, but fell short of expectations.
- Global stocks are having one of their worst weeks since the pandemic-related upheaval of 2020, and some investors aren't convinced that assets have fallen far enough to reflect the tightening cycle.
- Compared to the previous two bear markets, which were also accompanied by out-of-control inflation, the present one, at six months, still has a long way to go. The downturn of 1980-1982, like the one of 1973-1974, lasted just over 20 months.
- After it broke its longest losing skid in newswire records dating back to 2010, Bitcoin flirted with the $20,000 mark on Friday. Babel Finance, the second major digital-asset lender to halt withdrawals this week, citing "exceptional liquidity concerns" as it deals with recent market falls, in a sign of escalating turbulence in the crypto industry. Traders evaluated the risk of slower economic growth against limited supply as oil prices plummeted.
- According to Bank of America, which cites EPFR global data, US stocks drew $14.8 billion in the week ending June 15th, marking the sixth consecutive week of gains. According to the data, $16.6 billion poured into equities globally during the period, while bond redemptions reached their highest level since April 2020, and just over $50 billion exited cash. In a second analysis, BofA upgraded European stocks from negative to neutral, claiming that the impact of economic news has now been factored in.
