- Nasdaq dropped 3% as sluggish global growth weighs.
- The aggressive Fed policy is also keeping the stocks in the red.
- Covid jitters keep the investors worried.
Tech-Nasdaq led Wall Street 3% lower Tuesday amid jitters ahead of mega-cap and tech gains and fears of sluggish global growth and more aggressive Fed policy.
Investors have been worried about higher interest rates impacting their earnings this year. However, China’s COVID-19 lockdown and hawkish stance from major central banks overshadowed what was better than expected income season so far.
Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, technology, communications services, and consumer staples fell the most, dropping 4.1% from 2.8%.
On Tuesday, Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. fell by 3.4% and 2.9%, respectively, beating their pre-trade results. In addition, there will be earnings reports from about a third of S&P 500 companies this week.
If the results and forecasts are poor, we could face a much bigger problem. Joe Saluzzi, trading manager at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey, believes big companies’ profits will set the tone.
The supply chain may also be affected by COVID and war scares. China is such a big supplier, particularly for some of these tech companies. This can be a big problem, so investors are keeping a very close eye on it.”
At a meeting on Tuesday, the United States and its allies offered even heavier weapons to Ukraine in response to Moscow’s claim that its support for Kyiv could lead to nuclear war.
After reports that Russian gas supplies to Poland were halted, the energy sector rose 2.1% on a rebound in oil prices.
Refinitiv data shows that 80.6% of companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far have beaten analysts expectations. This compares to 66% in a typical quarter.
After a lower-than-expected outlook for full-year earnings, General Electric Co shares fell 11.6%.
US shares of United Parcel Service Inc fell 3.9% despite higher adjusted quarterly earnings, while US shares of hospital operator Universal Health Services Inc fell 9.1% after earnings missed estimates.
In April, US consumer confidence dropped despite households planning to buy vehicles and many appliances, supporting consumer spending next quarter.
Nasdaq technical analysis:
The technical outlook for the Nasdaq is bearish as the price lies well below the key SMAs on the 4-hour chart. Moreover, the index is heading towards the previous swing lows below the 13,000 mark.
