Global Markets Retreat On Hawkish Federal Policy Statement

After a senior Federal Reserve policymaker appeared to dash hopes that inflationary pressures had peaked, most of the Wall Street stocks gave back the significant gains they had made during the fortnight. The S and P 500 index’s growth-oriented technology and communication services sectors underperformed, with the latter being adversely affected by a significant drop in FB’s parent company Meta Platforms. Even as they gave rise to optimism that the economy would avoid a recession, certain upward surprises in the week’s economic statistics may have increased rate anxieties.