US Stock Market, Worst First Half in 52 Years... $9 Trillion Evaporated

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The U.S. stock market, crushed by fears of inflation and R (recession), has plunged more than 20% since the beginning of the year, marking the worst first half in 52 years.

On the 30th of last month (local time), the S&P 500 index closed at 3,785.38, down 0.88% from the previous session on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500, which reflects the stock prices of the top 500 U.S. companies, fell 20.58% through the last trading day of the first half of the year. This is the worst decline for a first half since 1970.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, composed of blue-chip stocks, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index also plunged 15.31% and 29.51%, respectively, since the start of the year. According to Bloomberg data estimated based on the S&P 1500 Composite Index, the U.S. stock market capitalization has decreased by more than $9 trillion (approximately 1,162.4 quadrillion KRW) since the end of 2021 due to the market downturn.

The global stock market in the first half of this year was engulfed by soaring inflation, the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening to curb it, and fears of a recession.

On this day, Deutsche Bank released a survey result showing that about 90% of investors expect the U.S. to enter a recession before the end of 2023. More than 70% of respondents predicted that the S&P 500 index would fall to 3,300. George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris Harris, said, "The market has not yet hit bottom. We will see a bigger downturn ahead," forecasting that the S&P 500 could drop to the 3,100 level.

Warnings of recession continue. The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank's forecast for the U.S. real GDP growth in the second quarter dropped to -1.0% on this day. If this continues, a 'technical recession,' defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, could become a reality.

Nuriel Roubini, a New York University professor known as 'Dr. Doom,' warned that a complex crisis combining the stagflation of the 1970s and the 2008 global financial crisis could occur.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.