U.S. stocks seesawed Monday with the major averages hitting their lows of the day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sounded alarms on surging inflation and vowed tough action.
The Dow Jones Industrials snapped its five-session win streak, dropping 201.94 points to close at 34,552.99. The blue-chip average was down more than 400 points at session lows.
The S&P 500 dipped below the breakeven line 1.94 points to 4,461.18
The NASDAQ Composite let go of 55.38 points to 13,838.46.
Powell on Monday said "inflation is much too high" and pledged to take "necessary steps" to bring prices under control.
He noted rate hikes could go from the traditional quarter-percentage-point moves to more aggressive half-basis-point increases if necessary.
The comments at the National Association for Business Economics came less than a week after the Fed raised interest rates for the first time since 2018.
On Monday, Boeing dropped 3.6% after a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed. Boeing's decline weighed on the Dow.
On the upside, energy stocks rallied Monday as oil prices rose. Occidental Petroleum and Marathon Oil were among the top gainers on the S&P 500, each rising more than 8%.
Last week, the three major averages notched their best week since November 2020, boosted largely by growth stocks.
Market participants are also monitoring the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned if peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin fail, it would mean the start of a “third world war.”
Ukrainian and Russian officials have met intermittently for peace talks, which have failed to progress to key concessions. Ukraine has also rejected an ultimatum to surrender the city of Mariupol to Russian troops.
Treasury prices plummeted, raising yields to 2.30% from Friday's 2.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $7.81 to $112.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices improved $6.20 to $1,935.50 U.S. an ounce.