Wall St Week Ahead-Rocky stock market faces Fed test with eyes on tightening plans

Worries over an increasingly hawkish Fed have helped drag the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPXdown 13.3% so far in 2022,, its steepest four-month decline to start any year since 1939.

NEW YORK: A volatile stock market faces a critical test next week, when the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates and give more insight on its plans for tightening monetary policy to fight surging inflation.

Worries over an increasingly hawkish Fed have helped drag the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPXdown 13.3% so far in 2022,, its steepest four-month decline to start any year since 1939.