Central Bank Hawkishness Triggers Stock Slump and Rate Hike Speculation

Stocks slumped as central banks across the world are wielding more rate increases and thwarting bets that tightening cycles were set to wind down, prompting investors to rethink animal spirits unleashed by last week’s Fed rate pause. Policy tightening fears from the US to Norway to the UK hobbled the market’s bull run, with all industry subsectors falling into the red in Europe. The prospect of tighter policy pushed the inversion of a key segment of the Treasury yield curve to a full percentage point for the first time since March.