Dow Loses 1,000 by Noon - InvestingChannel

Dow Loses 1,000 by Noon

Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, erasing the gains seen in the previous session after the Federal Reserve raised rates by half a point.

The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 976.43 points, or 2.9%, to 33,084.63.

The S&P 500 slouched 144.6 points, or 3.2%, to 4,155.57.

The NASDAQ Composite subtracted 587 points, or 4.6%, to 12,377.86.

Large tech stocks were under pressure, with Facebook-parent Meta Platforms down 5.8% and Amazon falling 7.1%. Microsoft dropped 4.7%. Salesforce tumbled 6.3%.

E-commerce stocks were a key source of weakness on Thursday following some disappointing quarterly reports.

Etsy retreated 15% and eBay dropped 8%, after issuing weaker-than-expected revenue guidance. Shopify fell more than 17% after missing estimates on the top and bottom lines.

The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, as expected, and said it would begin reducing its balance sheet in June.

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his news conference that the central bank is “not actively considering” a larger 75-basis-point rate hike, which appeared to spark a rally.

Still, the Fed remains open to the prospect of taking rates above neutral to rein in inflation

In economic data, weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected and labor productivity dropped 7.5% in the first quarter for its fastest decline since 1947.

Treasury prices jumped sharply, with yields falling to 3.09% from Wednesday’s 2.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gained 49 cents to $108.30 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices took on $13.20 to $1,882 U.S. an ounce.

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