The grim news for the United States stock market continues with the Dow falling nine per cent in September, its worst month since March 2020.

Mind you, that was the beginning of the COVID pandemic when markets across the world tumbled.

Today, the Dow was down about 500 points or 1.7 per cent.

The Dow is now down about 20 per cent this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 24 per cent so far in 2022. The S&P 500 has now declined for a third straight quarter for the first time since the third quarter of 2009. But it must be said September has been the worst month for the S&P 500 since 1950.

 Tech stocks have taken a beating with the Nasdaq Composite down nearly 30 per cent this year.

It’s a terrible time for US stocks. Rampant inflation, supply chain problems and the war in Ukraine have all combined to form a pall on performance. Even Nike is down 13 per cent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has increased the Fed fund rate by 0.75 per cent and promised additional increases by year’s end to lower the present annual inflation rate of 8.3 per cent.

Morgan Stanley expects house prices in the US to dip next year.

“Traders and investors aren’t backing riskier assets because they are concerned about the slowdown in the global economy and the strong possibility of a recession occurring as a result of hawkish monetary policies set by various central banks,” said Naeem Aslam of Ava Trade.

Worries about a recession are growing.