Yahoo Finance Stock market: 'Two different dynamics at play,' NYSE president says
A host of concerns continue to weigh on the minds of stock market investors, NYSE president Lynn Martin told Yahoo Finance Live (video above).
"We have the geopolitical uncertainty — but there is also uncertainty about the U.S. economy, inflation in particular," Martin said. "That's very much on the minds of the investor. Dealing with inflation, the price of gas, food, whatever the case may be. And you are seeing it also at times around interest rate hikes. Is the Fed going to continue to raise rates 25 basis points to really curb inflation? So you have two different dynamics at play at the moment. And that is weighing on investors understandably."
The clouds hanging over the heads of investors have materialized in a few forms, none too pretty.
2022 has seen a major pullback in the stock prices of big-cap tech names owned by many average investors for years.
All five components of the closely watched FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) complex have shed more than 18% year-to-date, led by a nearly 69% crash for Netflix. And institutional investors, according to a new survey from Bank of America, have never been more bearish about the tech sector.
Furthermore, selling pressure appears to be spreading to value-focused areas of the market.
Shares of dividend-paying Walmart plunged an eye-popping 11% on Tuesday amid a large first quarter earnings shortfall and profit warning. The world's largest retailer blamed inflation and a more cautious consumer for its earnings day troubles.
The space of acquisitions and IPOs (initial public offerings) has not far much better.
At $1 trillion in the first quarter, the value and volume of deals fell a whopping one-fifth year over year, per Refinitiv data. Global IPO activity in the first quarter tanked 37% from a year ago to a paltry 321 deals, according to EY data.
Martin said the outlook for IPOs isn't totally dour, however.
"It's not that different from other periods where there has been uncertainty in the market," she said. "Coming to market has slowed mainly because of the volatility in the market. But the demand is still there. We are talking to new innovative companies every day about how they are coming to market, and when they come to market. They are excited about coming to market, but they will pick the right time to come."
Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.
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