European stocks and U.S. stock futures slumped early on Thursday amid fears of a recession, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress the central bank will continue to hike interest rates to combat inflation and acknowledged that a downturn was a “possibility.”AFP via Getty ImagesThe London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 100 slumped more than 0.7% after markets opened on Thursday morning while the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s DAX index was down 1.27%.
U.S. stock futures were also down in premarket trading early on Thursday with the benchmark S&P 500 index dropping 0.2% while the Dow Jones Index slid 0.36%. Crude oil prices were also down, with the global Brent Crude futures dropping more than 2% and falling below $110 per barrel.the Federal Reserve is “strongly committed” to raising interest rates until the country’s high inflation numbers are normalized. Powell also admitted that the central bank’s aggressive rate hikes meant that a recession is “certainly a possibility.
Tough times 😒