S&P 500 on pace to confirm bear mkt on inflation fears, recession worries

Banks forecast 75 bps Fed hike on June 15; Wall St 'fear gauge' surges to one-month high; S&P 500 hits lowest level since March 2021

Wall Street's main stock indexes fell sharply and the S&P 500 was on track to confirm a bear market on Monday on fears that the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes would tip the economy into recession.

The benchmark index is more than 20% below its record closing high on Jan. 3, the second such intraday decline since the pandemic-led rout on Wall Street in 2020.

A close of more than 20% below the all-time high would confirm the index is in a bear market, based on a commonly used definition.

All the major S&P sectors were sharply lower, with