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- US stocks finished lower Wednesday after an up-and-down session that began higher.
- The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back from a two-year high but continues to put pressure on tech stocks.
- Procter & Gamble, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America reported strong earnings.
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The Nasdaq’s slump extended into correction territory Wednesday as US stocks closed lower after an up-and-down session.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led stocks lower and is now 10% below its previous high, signaling a correction. The 10-year Treasury yield pulled back a bit after hitting a two-year high Tuesday. But it continues to put pressure on tech stocks as investors brace for aggressive monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve later this year.
So far in 2022, traders have sold off shares of big tech companies, in addition to cryptocurrencies, and opted instead for steadier investments in anticipation of rising interest rates.
Here’s where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 4,532.76, down 0.96%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,028.65, down 0.97% (339.82 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 14,340.25, down 1.15%
US stock began the session higher Wednesday on strong earnings reports. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley stocks gained after each firm posted better-than-expected four-quarter earnings. Consumer giant Procter & Gamble also delivered solid earnings.
“It was an impressive quarter of strong top-line growth despite surging commodity and transport costs,” said OANDA analyst Edward Moya. “Executives signaled more price increases are on the way and that should suggest 7% (inflation) is here to stay a little while longer.”
The crypto bear market pulled its total value below $2 trillion, and billionaire investor Mike Novogratz expects surging bond yields to keep cryptocurrencies and altcoins under pressure.
SoFi was conditionally approved as a bank as long as it doesn’t do any business in cryptocurrency, and its stock jumped 19% following the news.
JPMorgan analyzed a broad set of 1,000 thematic funds and found that they do not perform as well as global equities.
Oil prices continued to rally after hitting a seven-year high Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 1.79% higher at $86.96 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 0.65% to about $88.08.
Gold rose by 1.69% to $1,843.2 per ounce. The 10-year yield dipped nearly 2 basis points to to 1.849%.
Bitcoin fell 1.33% to $41, 796.05.
