Waves of Volatility Whipsaw Markets on Powell Tilt, Omicron Risk
- S&P 500 falls 0.8% in first losing November since 2011
- Choppy Treasuries provide no respite from trading swings
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Volatility is back, thanks to mounting concerns about the new omicron Covid variant and a surprise hawkish tilt by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 Index sank 1.9% on Tuesday after Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that the Fed should consider ending its pandemic support program sooner than expected. The move wiped out Monday’s gain and pushed the Cboe Volatility Index, better known as the VIX, close to where it was in May -- when the stock market briefly tumbled as investors started growing fearful about how long inflation would stick around.