[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The major indices of the New York stock market closed the first weekly trading of 2022 in a downward trend due to the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening announcements.
On the 7th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 4.81 points (0.01%) to 36,231.66, the S&P 500 index dropped 19.02 points (0.41%) to 4,677.03, and the Nasdaq index closed down 144.96 points (0.96%) at 14,935.90.
The weekly decline rate was about 1.9% for the S&P 500 and a sharp 4.5% drop for the Nasdaq. The Dow fell by 0.29%. Although the major indices all recorded all-time highs in the first trading session on the 3rd, they were hit hard as the Fed announced plans for a rate hike in March followed by quantitative tightening.
On this day, the major indices showed gains before the opening, but the mood changed after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate for December last year fell to 3.9%.
With indicators supporting the rate hike, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.771%. Bloomberg reported that bond yields surged the most in the first week of the year since 1973. However, the 2-year Treasury yield slightly reversed and fell. The 2-year yield recorded 0.9% intraday before dropping to 0.87%.
As interest rates continued to rise, the Nasdaq showed weakness, and the Dow, which was attempting to turn positive, also closed lower.
Gold was also weak. Although gold traded slightly higher at $1,796 on the day, it fell 2% over the week, marking the largest decline since November last year.
By stock, Tesla fell 3.54%, Nvidia dropped 3.3%, and Netflix declined 2.21%. Nvidia, a semiconductor company heavily purchased by foreign investors, also fell 3.3%.
Apple, which had shown weakness after surpassing a market capitalization of $3 trillion, stopped its decline with a 0.099% rise. Electric vehicle maker Lucid surged 9%.
The "meme stock" GameStop jumped 7.3% on reports that it is preparing to enter the non-fungible token (NFT) business.
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