US stock markets witnessed sharp selling on Friday amid a mixed start to the corporate results season amid rising tensions in the Middle East. The S&P 500 index fell 75 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 5,123. It was the biggest decline since Wall Street's rally began in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell 475 points, or 1.2 percent, to 37,983, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 267 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,175 from the previous day's record high.
JPMorgan Chase, one of the US stock giants, reported better-than-expected profit growth in the first quarter of this year, but its shares fell 6.5 percent. Similarly, Citigroup's profit also registered a good increase, but it declined by 1.7 percent. According to a report, since the inflation rate in the United States is likely to be higher than expected in the current year, market players are now worried about whether the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates three times this year, And now it is believed that the interest rate will be reduced only twice. The indices in the US markets had reached record highs on the expectation of three cuts in interest rates and now this expectation is getting weaker. If interest rates are not cut, listed companies will have to make huge profits to justify their prices, which seems unlikely.
There is concern that inflation rate will increase due to increase in crude oil prices. After the death of an Iranian journalist in the explosion at the Iranian Consulate in Syria, Israel has warned that it will retaliate if Iran is attacked from its soil. after which the middle
Crude oil prices increased further due to increasing tensions in the East. On the other hand, bond yields are also decreasing and gold prices are increasing. According to preliminary reports, consumer sentiment in the US is also weakening, indicating a reduction in spending by them. If such a decline occurs, the growth rate of the economy may decrease.