The stock market has been rattled since the beginning of 2022 due to the concerns surrounding forthcoming interest rate increases, skyrocketing inflation rates, and escalating war tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Amid the war between Russia and Ukraine, U.S. oil prices spiked to their highest level since 2008, crossing the $130 per barrel level. Consequently, , Dow Futures declined more than 300 points.
The cyclical Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index declined 7.5% year-to-date. This can be attributed to surging market volatility, which is evident in the CBOE’s Volatility Index’s 93.2% increase year-to-date. However, the index represents the top 30 companies listed in the U.S. exchanges in terms of market capitalization. These companies tend to have strong fundamentals and cash flows and hence should be able to weather the current market weakness easily.
