- The sell-off deepened across U.S. equity markets this week after the Fed announced aggressive measures to combat persistent inflation, sending equities plunging to their lowest levels since the initial vaccine approvals.
- Now having declined in ten of the past eleven weeks, the S&P 500 dipped 6.1% on the week - its worst decline since the depths of the pandemic in March.
- The Equity REIT Index declined 5.3% on the week. The selling pressure was sharper across the more economically-sensitive property sectors, as Mortgage REITs dipped 14% while Homebuilders declined 16%.
- A wave of REIT dividend hikes was a bright spot amid the carnage this week, as four equity REITs and four mortgage REITs hiked their dividends, bringing the full-year total across the sector to over 70.
- New home construction in the U.S. cooled to the lowest level in more than a year in May, as soaring mortgage rates and ongoing supply chain challenges have prompted builders to pump the brakes on new development despite historically low supply levels.
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Fed Loses Control