Stock futures were lower on Friday to close out another losing week as investors fear the Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign to fight inflation will lead to an economic downturn.
The benchmark S&P 500 tumbled 1.2% early into the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 300 points, or 1.1%, falling below the 30,000 level. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite off by 1.2%.
Friday is set to be the fourth negative session in a row for the major averages, with the Dow on track to take out its June closing low. The Fed on Wednesday enacted another super-sized rate hike of 75 basis points and indicated it would do another at its November meeting.
Bond yields have soared this week following the Fed’s actions, with the 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hitting highs not seen in over a decade. Stocks positioned to suffer the most in a recession have led this week’s losses with the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund off by more than 5%. The Real Estate Select Sectors SPDR Fund is down by 6%.
Goldman Sachs cut its year-end S&P 500 target because of rising rates, predicting at least 4% downside from here.
Investors on Friday continued to assess whether the Fed’s recent moves signal a downturn ahead, with many believing or beginning to accept that a recession is in fact on the horizon.
“Based on our client discussions, a majority of equity investors have adopted the view that a hard landing scenario is inevitable and their focus is on the timing, magnitude, and duration of a potential recession and investment strategies for that outlook,” wrote Goldman Sachs’ David Kostin in a note to clients.
Major averages are on pace for their fifth decline in the last six weeks and on track close out the week with losses. The Dow has given up about 2.4% this week, while both the S&P and Nasdaq have fallen 3% and 3.3%, respectively.
Costco was down in premarket trading Friday. Although the retailer posted fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings that topped analysts’ expectations, it is seeing higher freight and labor costs.
In other news, the pound hit a fresh more than three-decade low against the U.S. dollar after a new U.K. economic plan that included a slew of tax cuts rattled markets.