S&P falls to 2-year low as bear market deepens

STORY: Wall Street sank deeper into a bear market on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 recording its lowest close in almost two-years…

as Federal Reserve policymakers continued to talk up more interest rate hikes, even at the risk of throwing the economy into a downturn.

The Dow fell .4%, while the S&P lost 0.2%, falling below June’s prior low for the year. The Nasdaq climbed a quarter of a percent.

Chris Konstantinos is Director of Investments and Chief Investment Strategist at Riverfront Investment Group.

"The way the S&P 500 closed below that June low - we view that from a tactical, from a short-term perspective,

as a negative sign. It sort of invalidates, if you will, the longevity, the staying power of that June rally. And suggests to us that, you know, that was nothing more than a bear market rally and that we're likely to continue to plumb new lower lows in the future.”

The S&P 500 has declined for six straight sessions, its longest losing streak since February of 2020.

Echoing the hawkish words of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Tuesday made a case for more rate hikes, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the central bank will need to raise rates by at least another percentage point this year.

"The opinion that matters the most is Powell's. But the fact that you have other, that the Fed is basically jawboning and sending out other governors with a very similar message to Powell is probably, that's probably strategic on the Fed's part. And that's just trying to underline or reiterate to the market, not to, you know, not to expect this hawkishness to lift anytime soon.”

In individual movers, Tesla gained 2.5% and Nvidia added 1.5%, with both companies to helping keep the Nasdaq in positive territory.