Global equities edged lower on Monday, including safe assets such as gold, as inflation fears continued to pressure the market in every direction.
In the U.S. Dow Jones closed 1.99% lower, S&P 500 dropped 3.20% and Nasdaq fell 4.29%.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 2.90% lower, while DAX and FTSE fell 2.15% and 2.32%, respectively.
The international benchmark Brent crude fell 5.7% to close at $105.94 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 6.1%,to $103.09 a barrel.
Gold prices extended losses on Monday to fall more than 1%. As of 8:48 local time in Thailand on Tuesday, Gold Spot was at $1,854.90 per ounce, dropping 0.19%.
Investors are showing concerns over inflation more than ever as energy prices remain at a higher level, while the war in Ukraine still continues without a finish line in sight. Sanctions from the Great Nations on Russia, especially energy, would make it even worse.
The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to increase its policy rate by 0.50bps last Wednesday, which was the most aggressive move made in a single hike since May 2000.
The Bank of England followed suit on Thursday by raising its interest rate by 0.25bps to a full percentage point, its highest rate since 2009.
The U.S. will report its April inflation data on Wednesday local time in which economists’ consensus indicated a slow down of the consumer price index from 8.5% in March to 8.1%, which is still at a high level of 40-year high.
