Stocks slump on Wall Street as oil, inflation worries rise

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down went stocks on Wall Street Thursday as global markets keep swinging on
uncertainty about where inflation, interest rates and the global economy are
heading.

Also Read: US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500 and Nasdaq turns red in early trade on Thursday

The
S&P 500 slumped 1.2% in afternoon trading, on pace for its fifth drop in
the last six days. It marks another reversal for US stocks, which just a day
earlier surged to their biggest gain since June 2020 when a tumble for oil
prices seemed to take some pressure off the world’s high inflation.

Oil
prices had their own swings Thursday morning, with a barrel of US crude
jumping as much as 5.7%, before flip-flopping between gains and losses. It was
recently at $108.84, up 0.1%. Recent surges for energy prices have raised the
risk that the economy is set to struggle under a toxic cocktail of stagnating
growth and persistently high inflation.

Also Read: Explained: How US sanctions on Russian energy affect its domestic market

Oil’s
back-and-forth moves were just some of the waves of reports buffeting markets
worldwide. The European Central Bank said high inflation will push it to wrap
up its bond-buying program meant to boost its economy faster than expected. In
the US, a report showed that consumer prices leaped 7.9% in February from a
year earlier. It’s the sharpest spike since 1982, though the reading was
largely within expectations.

Altogether,
the forces caused a reversal for many of the market’s moves from a day before.

Also Read: Viktor Orban says sanctions on Russian energy puts ‘large burden’ on Hungary

The
Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 360 points, or 1.1%, to 32,924, as of
12:15 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was 1.9% lower.

European
stocks were hit even harder, with Germany’s DAX losing 2.9% and France’s CAC 40
down 2.8%. Asian stocks earlier in the day mostly rose.

Also Read: US oil and gas industry support Joe Biden’s ban on Russian energy imports

Such
swings have become common in recent weeks, not only day-to-day but
hour-to-hour, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised worries about how high
prices will go for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the region.
Markets were already on edge before the war because high inflation is pushing
central banks to raise interest rates for the first time in years and halt
programs launched to support the global economy after the pandemic struck. Many
investors see a recession as still unlikely, but they say the risk of one is
rising.

Also Read: Oil climbs, stocks waver as US nears ban of Russian crude

Analysts
said Thursday’s US inflation report, while eye-popping, likely won’t have
much effect on markets. The 7.9% leap was exactly what economists were
forecasting, and it did not include the most recent surge for oil and gasoline
prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If anything, it may have offered
some relief because it didn’t hit the 8% threshold that could feel even worse.