5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday, May 9

By Helen Gray On May 9, 2022

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Nasdaq futures over drop 2% as stocks continue to sell off

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, May 6, 2022.

Source: NYSE

The Nasdaq was poised to lead Wall Street lower again Monday, with futures tied to the tech-heavy index dropping 2%. Rising bond yields continued to pressure stocks as traders maintained their revolt against the Federal Reserve, doubting it can get inflation under control. Two key inflation reports are out Wednesday and Thursday. Futures trading pointed to a 400-point, or 1.3%, fall at the open for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 1.7% decline for the S&P 500.

The first trading week of May marked the sixth straight weekly decline for the Dow, and five straight weekly drops for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The Dow and S&P 500 remained in corrections, as defined by a drop of 10% or more from their recent highs. The Nasdaq fell further into a bear market, defined by a drop of 20% or more from its most recent high.

2. Bond yields push higher with traders doubting the Fed on inflation

After the central bank increased interest rates, as expected, by 50 basis points on Wednesday, Chairman Jerome Powell took a more aggressive 75 basis point hike off the table for upcoming meetings. He also said he expects 50 basis point rate increases at the Fed’s June and July meetings.
Last Wednesday’s relief rally in stocks, accompanied by a dip in bond yields, was short-lived. Thursday’s whipsaw wiped out and then some the prior session’s stock advance as bond yields soared.
That dynamic continued Friday and in Monday’s premarket. The Fed increased rates 25 basis points in March and it’s expected to hike at least that much at its meetings in September, November and December.

3. Bitcoin drops under $33,000, still linked to tech stocks

Bitcoin plunged over the weekend and dropped another 5% on Monday, going below $33,000 as the world’s largest cryptocurrency remained correlated to tech stocks and the Nasdaq.

The pattern of late goes against the argument of bitcoin as an inflation hedge. But to be fair, gold, which has long been an investment to protect against inflation, has also suffered in Wall Street’s recent rough patch.
Bitcoin has dropped 50% from its all-time high of more than $68,000 in November, caught up in this year’s risk asset drubbing due to rising inflation and tighter Fed policy as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. Bitcoin has seen many boom and bust cycles over the years.

4. Oil slips but prices remain high in a demand-supply tug of war

Permian Basin rigs in 2020, when U.S. crude oil production dropped by 3 million a day as Wall Street pressure forced cuts.

Paul Ratje | Afp | Getty Images

U.S. oil prices dropped Monday alongside stocks, weighed down by a strong dollar and demand concerns as Covid lockdowns continued in China, the world top oil importer. It seems like worries about demand were winning out to start the week after supply concerns about Europe’s proposed ban on Russian oil drove last week’s nearly 5% rise in crude prices, their second straight weekly advance. That’s why Monday’s roughly 2.5% drop only gets West Texas intermediate crude, the American benchmark, brought down to about $107 per barrel.

5. Putin tries to defend Russia’s Ukraine war in ‘Victory Day’ speech

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu walk after a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022.

Maxim Shemetov | Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday tried to defend Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in a speech on “Victory Day,” annual celebrations marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Putin urged his forces on to success in Ukraine, saying there’s a duty to remember those who prevailed in World War II. Putin referred to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine numerous times throughout the speech, appearing to double down on Russia’s new strategy of focusing on the “liberation” of Donetsk and Luhansk.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound, Vicky McKeever and Holly Ellyatt as well as Reuters contributed to this report.

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