‘Catastrophic’ Stock Market Crash Isn’t Over—Here’s How Much Worse It Could Get

‘Catastrophic’ Stock Market Crash Isn’t Over—Here’s How Much Worse It Could Get

Share to Linkedin As a weeklong sell-off that's pushed major indexes down into bear-market territory intensifies, investment banks are warning clients the worst may be yet to come, with some experts warning the S&P 500 could plunge as much as 11% more if corporate earnings continue to disappoint as the Federal Reserve begins raising interest rates. "It's too early to be bullish," one Morgan Stanley analyst said Monday. Dragged down by a fifth-straight day of steep losses in the tech sector, the S&P 500 fell nearly 4% to 4, 236 Monday morning, pushing the index down more than 10% for the year. A "disappointing" start to fourth-quarter earnings season could spell trouble for stocks this year, Goldman Sachs' David Kostin wrote in a Monday note, forecasting the S&P could plunge as much as 11% from Friday's close (to 3, 914) if higher interest rates and the reduction in Fed stimulus push annual corporate profits down 4% from 2021. Morgan Stanley's Michael Wilson struck a similar tone, telling clients on Monday to "hunker down for a few more months" as slowed earnings growth joins monetary policy uncertainty as primary market concerns. "It's too early to be bullish," Wilson said, warning the