US stocks fall to extend Friday's steep declines as investors grapple with hawkish Fed policy outlook

• US stocks fell at the open on Monday in a continuation of losses from Friday's session.
• Investor sentiment remains sour after Fed chair Jerome Powell's latest comments on tightening.

Us stocks opened lower Monday as investor sentiment remained sour following steep losses from Friday's session.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell remained steadfast in his Friday remarks in Wyoming that the central bank's priority is taming inflation. Wall Street had shown signs of optimism in previous sessions that the Fed would pull back in its tightening schedule on the heels of a better than expected inflation report last month.

"Fed Chair Powell broke no new ground in Friday's Jackson Hole speech, but he offered very little to anyone hoping for a shift away from his recent hawkishness, still less anything that could be characterized as dovish," Ian Sheperdson, chief economist and Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in report Monday.

Sheperdson added that "the one glimmer of hope" was Powell's acknowledgement that price pressures were mostly due to the battle between supply and demand constraints.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:

• S&P 500: 4,036.80, down 0.51%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,088.03, down 0.61% (195.37 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,104.15, down 0.3%

The world's largest asset manager is recommending that the central bank take a vacation once the current rate hike schedule concludes and should adopt a wait and see attitude toward inflation. A recent report from BlackRock said steep, continued benchmark rate hikes could reverse economic progress seen this year.

UBS head of asset allocation Jason Draho thinks that markets are set for a bullish turn akin to the "roaring 20s," due to factors such as big investments in infrastructure and inward company investments.

Elsewhere, Russia's gas storage is over 90% full for the winter while Europe is struggling to shore up supplies. Europe is grappling with an energy crisis exacerbated by the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil was higher, with West Texas Intermediate climbing 1.55% to $94.52. International benchmark Brent Crude jumped 1.52% to $102.58.

Gold gained 0.08% to $1,738.20. The 10-year-yield climbed 5.4 basis-points to 3.087%.

Bitcoin was up 0.13% at $19,985.35