WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it is likely to hike interest rates in March and reaffirmed plans to end its bond purchases that month in what U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell pledged will be a sustained battle to tame inflation.
The asset purchases will continue for a few more months and end in March.
In a separate statement, the Fed issued broad guidelines for how it will shrink its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. The bank plans to adjust principal reinvestments and eventually jettison most of its holdings in mortgage-backed securities.
It’s been a decidedly ugly start to the year for the stock market, with particular pain in the tech trade.
State of play: As of the end of trading Tuesday — the 16th session of the year — 2022 is now, officially, the worst-ever start in the history of the S&P 500, according to data from Ned Davis Research, a stock market research shop.
- The 8.6% decline for the month edges out the 8.57% drop experienced in January 2009.
- S&P 500 data goes back to 1929.
www.axios.com/stock-market-2022-worst-start-year-ever-73c15533-b443-4290-8693-c215df7a44ab.html