What's going on with the US stock market?
ADVERTISEMENTThe market turmoil - dubbed Wall Street Bloodbath - started last week and got worse on Monday.
The trigger? The US Jobs report.
According to the January data released last Friday, nonfarm payrolls grew by 200,000 in January and the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent.
More importantly, average hourly earnings increased 2.9 percent year on year, the best gains since the early days of the recovery in 2009.
So far, so good. So what happened?
US consumer prices rose in December: overall inflation has risen 2.1 percent, while core inflation is up 1.8 percent.
Francois Chaulet, Managing Director of Montsegur Finance said: "This signal which comes from the United States, signals a return to a level of inflation which we haven't experienced for a long time, a signal of the great health of the economy."
US Federal Reserve has a dual mandate. The American Central Bank's governing council is deciding on the monetary policy based on two factors: inflation and maximum employment.
Both indicators look good and therefore the Federal reserve could increase interest rates more quickly than previously thought. These concerns triggered the stocks sell-off.
James McBride, Managing Director of The McBride Group said: "Typically or historically, if the Fed does raise interest rates too far, too fast, it does have a negative effect on the stock market."
The Federal Reserve's new chair Jerome Powell was sworn-in right in the middle of the market turmoil.
In a recorded statement Powell signaled that during his term the policies would largely mirror those of his predecessor.
