The stock market stops panicking when the central bank starts to panic
Worst September for Equities Since 2002.
Amid increased recession risks and additional interest rate hikes, equities tumbled in September as the S&P 500 Index fell 9.3%, posting its worst September since 2002. Broad-based emerging markets were among the worst performers (-11.3%), followed by US growth stocks (-10.5%), and US small-caps (-9.8%). Bonds also struggled as Treasury-inflation protected notes declined 6.7%, investment grade corporates returned -6.0%, and 7-10 year US Treasuries fell 4.7%. Aside from silver (+5.6%), commodities produced negative returns as crude oil was down 10.7%, broad-based commodities fell 8.1%, and gold declined 2.9%.