Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell set the stage for further rounds of interest-rate increases on March 7, sending bond yields higher and stock prices lower. Below are lists of the day’s biggest losers among the broad U.S. stock indexes. Bank stocks were hit particularly hard, as investors considered the Fed’s efforts to slow the economy and a rising cost for funding. Shares of electric vehicle makers also tumbled, as you can see in the Nasdaq-100 list below.
At first glance, Powell’s choice of words when speaking before the Senate Banking Committee may have seemed reasonable and measured, but investors didn’t see it that way. In his prepared remarks, Powell said: “The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated.” Considering that the federal-funds target range is now 4.50% to 4.75%, up from a range of zero to 0.25% only a year ago, these words from Powell were a big deal, and the markets treated them as such. Below is a list of stocks in the broad U.S. indexes that declined the most on March 7. Read: What’s next for stocks after Fed’s Powell triggers market-rattling rate jolt The yield on 2-year U.S. Treasury notes
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climbed 12 basis points for the day to 5.02%. S&P 500 The …