US stocks sold off in early trading on Monday in a sign of mounting investor anxiety as Wall Street enters a week of crucial earnings reports from major tech firms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 230 points, or about 0.7%, as of 12:30 p.m. ET. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined about 50 points, while the broad-based S&P 500 also sank approximately 50 points.
On Friday, the Dow posted its worst one-day performance since October 2020 — plunging more than 900 points after top Federal Reserve officials indicated sharper-than-expected rate hikes might be necessary to curb inflation.
The Dow has finished lower for four consecutive weeks, while the S&P 500 has experienced three straight weeks of declines.
Major indices have been under pressure as Wall Street reacts to global uncertainty, including mounting fears of a global economic slowdown, new COVID-19 lockdowns in China, surging US inflation and the escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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That uncertainty is weighing heavily on US stocks as closely-watched blue-chip tech companies prepare to report earnings. Apple, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta and Microsoft all will provide their latest quarterly results this week.
Last week, Netflix’s revelation that it lost 200,000 subscribers spooked the broader tech market as investors reacted to the possibility that pandemic-era boom times may be coming to an end.
The CBOE Volatility index, a metric known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” jumped to 31.31 points – its highest level since mid-March.
The possibility of more lockdowns in China also prompted a selloff on local markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 3.7%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 5.1%.
“China lockdowns are getting worse. It slows general economic growth and also creates supply chain issues that will continue to make inflation bad and lower earnings growth in the United States,” Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management in New York, told Reuters.
Grisanti added that markets likely haven’t “seen the bottom yet.”
“We haven’t had that big sell off yet where we have huge volumes,” he said.
This week, investors are also watching closely to see if Twitter’s board of directors decides to accept billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to buy the embattled social media platform.
Twitter shares rose nearly 4% by midday follows reports that the board was close to approving the $43 billion deal – despite disagreements between Musk and the company’s current leadership over its long-term direction.
With Post wires