Bloomberg Línea — After Wednesday’s losses following the change of tone by the Federal Reserve and expectations of a more aggressive stance toward interest rates this year, shares on the three main U.S. markets ended the day with losses on Thursday.
The S&P 500 (SPX:IND) closed down 0.10%, while the Nasdaq Composite (CCMP) slid 0.13%, a less steep decline compared with Wednesday’s 3.34% drop, while the Dow Jones Industrial Index (INDU:IND) lost 0.47%.
“We knew coming into 2022 that the Fed was going to create volatility in the market and we are seeing it right from the start of the year,” Lindsey Bell, director of markets and monetary strategy at Ally, told Bloomberg.
The riskiest assets have taken a pummeling after the Federal Reserve announced that the economy’s growth rate, inflation and the labor market will make a rise in interest rates necessary sooner than thought, and it is expected there will be three rate rises this year, starting from March, according to investors.
Bitcoin (XBTUSD:CUR) was trading at $43,322.85 with an accumulated decline during the week of 6.8% until 15:35 ET, having fallen from highs of $69,000 in November of last year.
Latin America
Colombia’s Msci Colcap (COLCAP:IND) was the worst performer in the region, with a 1.47% drop, with the sharpest share drop recorded by Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño (GEA). The board of directors of Grupo Nutresa made the decision Thursday to reject the purchase by Grupo Gilinski of a stake in Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana.
The boards of Grupo Sura (GRUPOSUR:CB) and Grupo Argos (GRUPOARG:CB) had announced their decision to not participate in the takeover bid launched by the Gilinski family for Grupo Nutresa (NUTRESA:CB). The two companies have a cross-shareholding scheme that has been operating for decades in Colombia and has now been put in check by the offer of the family linked to the bank GNB Sudameris.
Omar Suárez, equity strategy manager at Casa de Bolsa, a Bogotá-based brokerage firm, said that despite the news about the takeover bid, the Colombian stock market was also weighed down by the international mood, following “a more hawkish tone from the Fed”.
Shares such as Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB:CB), ETB (ETB:CB) and Mineros (MINEROS:CB) also suffered losses above 2%, Suárez told Bloomberg Línea.
Brazil’s Ibovespa (IBOV:IND) ended the day’s trading with a 0.55% hike as the market aimed to recover from Wednesday’s losses, with Vale (VALE3:BZ) and Petrobras (PETR4:BZ) aiding that recovery.
