Wall Street slips on tech losses, weighs tax uncertainty

The Nasdaq was the worst performer among major US indices and was set for its worst day since late July as a batch of strong economic readings prompted investors to exit financially sensitive sectors and tech this week. encouraged.

Lewis Dudley, global equity portfolio manager in international trading at Federated Hermes, said, “(It) was a volatile week and price outperformed in the form of ‘buy dip’ sentiments, but to overcome recent market weakness.” Not enough.” .

The three major indices are now set for weekly losses, with the S&P 500 poised for its worst two-week performance since late February.

Concerns that a potential hike in corporate taxes could dent earnings also hit markets, as leading Democrats sought to raise the top tax rate on corporations to 26.5% from the current 21%.

Dudley said, “We anticipate large-cap volatility as changes in US corporate tax rates play a role as the two sides negotiate, particularly in ‘low tax’ sectors such as tech and biotech and companies with heavy international revenues.” For.”

The focus is now on a Federal Reserve meeting next week, with investors debating whether a batch of strong economic data this week could prompt the bank to shorten its timeline for easing monetary stimulus.

Thursday’s data showing an unexpected increase in retail sales came on the heels of a stagnant factory activity reading and a cooling in inflation, suggesting the US economic recovery was resilient despite the recent rise in cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant.

Treasury yields also rose on the data, indicating increased optimism on the economy as investors sold safe-haven bonds.

At 11:48 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 168.97 points, or 0.49%, to 34,580.72, the S&P 500 fell 31.57 points, or 0.71%, to 4,442.18, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 146.08 points, or 0.96%, to 15,035.68. .

Analysts said the S&P 500 was trading closer to its 50-day moving average, which is a major support for the index. Inevitably, Friday’s losses could lead to a rally next week.

Simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures and index options contracts later in the day, known as triple witching, is also expected to create volatility during the trading session.

Among other movers, vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer fell in the midst of an ongoing debate over whether Americans should receive booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The number of advances declined due to a 2 to 1 ratio on the NYSE and a nearly 1.4-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 recorded 7 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 68 new highs and 60 new lows.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.