From stocks to crypto, a punishing six months for investors

Americans with stock portfolios or retirement investment plans would likely prefer to forget the last six months.

The S&P 500, Wall Street’s broad benchmark for many stock funds, was on pace Thursday afternoon for a 20% loss through the end of June after starting the year at an all-time high. It’s the worst start to a year for stocks in decades.

Investors have been grappling with uncertainty and fear this year following a sharp rise in interest rates as the Federal Reserve and other central banks scrambled to tame the highest inflation in more than 40 years. Higher rates can bring down inflation, but they also slow the economy, raising the risk of a recession. That's helped drag down the value of stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies and other investments.

On June 13, the S&P 500 tumbled into a bear market, dropping more than 20% below the record high it set in early this year. It’s now 20.4% below that Jan. 3 all-time high, back to where it was in late 2020.

The Fed has been at the center of the market’s downturn, raising its key short-term interest rates three time this year. Its most recent increase earlier this month was triple the usual amount and its biggest hike since 1994. More outsized increases are almost certain.

“You can argue that they’re just playing the hand they were dealt, but the reality is they got caught a little bit behind the curve and their pivot toward a much more aggressive policy stance has been the reason the market has sold off,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.

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