That puts extra pressure on Big Tech stocks that have an outsized effect on the S&P 500 and other indexes because of their immense size. That includes six instances going back to 1982.Ĭonversely, higher rates hurt all kinds of stocks but tend to hit high-growth companies the hardest. stocks have tended to return an average of 8% in the three months following the peak of the Fed’s federal funds rate, according to Goldman Sachs. Lower rates tend to act like steroids for financial markets. Less oil pumped means higher prices, as long as demand stays steady.īeyond raising gasoline prices and other costs for everyone, costlier oil could confound the expectation that slowing inflation might lead the Federal Reserve to ease its interest rate hikes. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3% to 12,189.45.Įxxon Mobil and other oil producers leaped after Saudi Arabia and other producers said they’ll cut production by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the year’s end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1% to 33,601.15. On Monday, big gains for energy stocks helped offset losses for some big technology stocks on Wall Street.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6% to 20,278.03, weighed down by losses in technology shares.

Japan has kept its key interest rate at minus 0.1% and China has been easing rates to alleviate pressures on its vital property sector.Įlsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 28,270.26, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.2% to 3,304.33. Vietnam’s central bank eased its benchmark rate on Monday to reflect a slowdown in the economy. Regional central banks have been varying their strategies as inflation wanes in some places but remains stubbornly high in others.

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