EXPLAINER: Why is Wall Street back on the roller coaster?

NEW YORK (AP) — And back down goes Wall Street.

After getting mauled most of the year, prices for all kinds of investments steadied in the summer and were heading back up. The recovery was so strong that some investors wondered if Wall Street's “bear market” was coming to an end.

Now, such questions are getting more muted. On Monday, the main measure of the U.S. stock market tumbled to its worst loss in two months. That followed its first losing week in the last five. It's the latest reminder that the main constant for Wall Street this year has been volatility.

Here's a look at what's happening in financial markets, what's driving it and what may lie ahead:

THE SUMMER HAS BEEN GOOD FOR WALL STREET?

Very. The U.S. stock market roared upward by a little more than 17% between its bottom in the middle of June and last week, which is better than it does in many full years. The powerful run meant it recovered more than half its losses from earlier in the year. That's when it dropped more than 20% from its peak to put the S&P 500 into what's known as a “bear market.”

WAS IT JUST STOCKS RISING?

No. Prices also climbed for everything from bonds, which tend to attract more conservative and older investors, to cryptocurrencies, whose traders often welcome big risks.

WHAT DROVE THE RALLY?

Hope that the Federal Reserve may not raise interest rates as aggressively as feared in its battle against inflation.

The Fed has already raised short-term rates four times in 2022, after keeping them pinned at virtually zero for two years because of the pandemic. The fear on Wall Street has been that accelerating inflation would force the Fed to hike rates by market-shaking margins.

But investors saw signs that inflation may be near its peak. A highlight was a report earlier this month...