Asian shares decline amid omicron, Fed, Ukraine jitters - Associated Press

A late-day buying spree pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index to a 0.3% gain after pulling it out of so-called correction territory — a drop of 10% or more from its most recent high.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 4% Monday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose 0.6% after recovering from a nearly 5% descent.

Early in the day, benchmark stock indexes flirted with near 4-month lows as investors anticipated guidance from the Fed later this week about its plans to raise interest rates to tame inflation, which is at its highest level in nearly four decades.

The Fed’s short-term rate has been pegged near zero since the pandemic hit the global economy in 2020 and that has fueled borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses.

Nudging rates higher is intended to help slow economic growth and the rate of inflation.

The S&P 500 rose 12.19 points to 4,410.13.

The Dow rose 99.13 points to 34,364.503

They argue that numerous rate hikes would risk causing a recession and wouldn’t slow inflation in any case.

In this view, high prices mostly reflect snarled supply chains that the Fed’s rate hikes are powerless to cure.

When the Fed boosts its short-term rate, it tends to make borrowing more expensive for consumers and businesses, slowing the economy with the intent of reducing inflation.

Investors are monitoring the latest round of corporate earnings, in part, to gauge how companies are dealing with higher prices and what they plan to do as inflation continues pressuring operations.