Top 14 US Stock Market Headwinds: Forces Pushing Stock Prices Lower

By Jeffrey Cohen, President and Founder, US Advanced Computing Infrastructure, Inc. A consultancy and investment advisory firm.

We read about investors betting that US stocks will go lower. We see seemingly rational people call a top and say that stocks will fall. Here are fourteen reasons why they think that, although what really matters is what happens tomorrow.

Our pinned tweet suggested that US companies will start to fail and enter bankruptcy right when the S&P 500 was trading at 4,602. This article will explain a few forces at work to push US stock prices lower.

Factors that put downward pressure on stock prices

Here are the factors that put downward pressure on stock prices when they rise.

1. Short-term interest rates: up from near zero to 5.5% in one year.
2. Long-term interest rates: up from ~2% to 4.5% in one year.
3. Stock price variance (or the price of volatility): low, but rising recently.
4. US Dollar (vs. other currencies): significantly higher, especially against Asian countries.
5. The threat of war: growing with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
6. Government sales of debt for cash (a.k.a…