Dow plunges more than 400 points ahead of Fed testimony as Apple slams Nasdaq
NY Post
Wall Street plunged on Tuesday, with weakness in megacap growth companies such as Apple and the chip sector weighing on the Nasdaq ahead of this week’s crop of economic data and remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 404.64 points, or 1%, to 38,585.19, the S&P 500 slid 1.2%, and the Nasdaq was down 1.7%.
Data showed US services industry growth slowed a bit in February amid a decline in employment, but a measure of new orders increased to a six-month high, pointing to underlying strength in the sector.
The PMI was consistent with continued economic expansion despite 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes from the Fed since March 2022.
Another survey showed new orders for US-manufactured goods dropped more than expected in January.
An AI-fueled rally on Wall Street ran out of steam at the start of this week as focus turns to fresh cues on the Fed’s monetary policy path after signs of sticky inflation in February dampened hopes of early interest rate cuts.
