The Wall Street sell-off intensified on Monday with the S&P 500 down more than 3.5% at the low of the day. The move was driven by the rising fear of inflation and economic slowing in the face of growing numbers of COVID-19 cases worldwide. High growth tech stocks led the decline, pushing the NASDAQ deeper into correction territory and the S&P 500 below the -10% mark.
The risk for the market now is a much deeper correction. With the S&P 500 down more than 10% and testing support at the October 2021 lows, there is a risk the move could go to a full 20%. In that scenario, the S&P 500 would still be well above the long-term trend and at risk of falling even further. At best, investors should brace for a rocky and possibly a range-bound year of trading in 2022.