Nasdaq Climbs Well Off Early Lows But Remains In The Red

After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks continue to see considerable weakness in afternoon trading on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed well off its worst levels of the day but remains in the red.

Currently, the Nasdaq is down 53.39 points or 0.4 percent at 13,348.47 after hitting its lowest intraday level in well over a month in early trading. The Dow is down 545.59 points or 1.6 percent at 34,197.23 and the S&P 500 is down 46.41 points or 1.1 percent at 4,142.02.

The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid continued weakness among technology stocks, which also helped lead the way lower on Monday.

The weakness among technology stocks partly reflected concerns about an acceleration in the rate of inflation and potential monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed has attributed the increase in inflation to “transitory factors,” although analysts have suggested the central bank will still begin considering tapering its asset purchases in the coming months.

Traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on consumer and producer inflation due to be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) has climbed off its worst levels but remains down by 1.5 percent after hitting its lowest intraday level in over a month.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are also seeing notable weakness after a report from Reuters said the electric car maker has halted plans to buy land to expand its Shanghai plant and make it a global export hub.

Sector News

Housing stocks continued to see substantial weakness in afternoon trading, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plunging by 3.6 percent after ending the previous session at its best closing level since a two-for-one split in early 2006.

Significant weakness also remains visible among computer hardware stock, as reflected by the 2.7 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. The index has fallen to its lowest intraday level in over a month.

Oil stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 2.4 percent

The weakness among oil stocks comes despite a modest increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for June delivery inching up $0.04 to $64.97 a barrel.

Transportation, commercial real estate and utilities stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, reflecting broad based selling pressure.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 3.1 percent, while Hong Kong Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2 percent.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index plunged by 2.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries are extending the downward move seen over the course of the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 1.625 percent.