U.S. Stocks Pull Back Sharply Following Two-Day Rebound

Following the significant rebound seen over the two previous sessions, stocks have pulled back sharply during trading on Tuesday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way lower.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq is down 329.52 points or 1.9 percent at 17,479.15, the S&P 500 is down 66.97 points or 1.2 percent at 5,608.15 and the Dow is down 290.53 points or 0.7 percent at 41,551.10.

The sell-off on Wall Street comes as traders cash in on the recovery seen over the two previous sessions, which saw the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rebound after hitting six-month lows last Thursday.

Concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s trade policies continue to weigh on Wall Street along with worries about the economic outlook despite the release of some upbeat economic data.

The Federal Reserve released a report this morning showing industrial production in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of January.

The report said industrial production climbed by 0.7 percent in February after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in January.

Economists had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.5 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department also released a report showing new residential construction rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of February.

Meanwhile, traders are also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is almost universally expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials’ latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

Sector News

Airline stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 2.4 percent.

Significant weakness is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Retail stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index down by 1.9 percent.

Software, biotechnology and computer hardware stocks have shown notable moves to the downside, while gold stocks are bucking the downtrend amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2.5 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction after ending the previous session roughly flat. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 4.308 percent.

Business News