US stock indexes fell on Tuesday and for the whole of February

US stock indexes declined on Tuesday, as well as for the whole of February.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 232.39 points (0.71%) to 32656.7 points. The value of the Standard & Poor's 500 for the day decreased by 12.09 points (0.3%) to 3970.15 points. The Nasdaq Composite index at the end of the session fell by 11.44 points (0.1%) and amounted to 11,455.54 points.

In just the past month, the S&P 500 lost 2.6%, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.2%, which was the worst monthly decline since September last year. 

The main negative factor affecting the mood of market participants remains the persistence of high inflation in the US and other developed countries, as well as expectations of further interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks.

The same reasons lead to a decrease in some macroeconomic indicators. Thus, the US consumer confidence index in February decreased to 102.9 points compared to a revised 106 points a month earlier. This was the lowest level in three months. Analysts predicted an increase to 108.5 points.