The reasons behind the stockmarket turmoil

AS THE STOCK-TRADING screens turned red, one trader was heard to quip that at least some things are falling in price. By the market close on Wednesday, January 26th, the cumulative loss on the S&P 500 index had moved towards 10% for this year, barely four weeks in. The year-to-date decline in the NASDAQ Composite, a tech-heavy index, is well into the double digits. The message from the Federal Reserve, which concluded its scheduled policy meeting on the 26th, is that interest rates must rise soon to tackle high inflation. It has been a rocky start to 2022 for investors.