Nasdaq, S&P 500 Moving Lower For Fourth Straight Session

Following the volatility seen during Monday’s session, stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 adding to the losses posted in the three previous sessions.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq is down 354.84 points or 1.8 percent at 18,932.09, the S&P 500 is down 61.38 points or 1.0 percent at 5,921.87 and the Dow is down 157.91 points or 0.4 percent at 43,303.30.

Weakness among technology stocks is weighing on Wall Street, as reflected the notable slump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Traders continue to express concerns about the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade, with AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) tumbling by 3.6 percent ahead of the release of its fourth quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.

The selling pressure also comes amid concerns about the outlook for the economy following the release of a Conference Board report showing a significant deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 98.3 in February from an upwardly revised 105.3 in January.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 103.0 from the 104.1 originally reported for the previous month.

Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, noted the consumer confidence index saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.

“This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022,” said Guichard. “Of the five components of the Index, only consumers’ assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly.”

She added, “Average 12-month inflation expectations surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs.”

Sector News

Gold stocks are moving sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.0 percent.

Substantial weakness is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Semiconductor, software and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Utilities, brokerage and natural gas stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, while pharmaceutical and housing stocks are bucking the downtrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved sharply higher, extending a recent upward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 9.9 basis points at 4.294 percent.

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