NEW YORK: The Nasdaq index tumbled nearly 3% on Thursday after a fresh batch of data showing a resilient economy fueled worries that the Federal Reserve would stick to its aggressive tightening path; with Micron’s glum forecast adding to a downbeat mood.
Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc fell more than 3% each, as two-year Treasury yields regained steam on prolonged rate hike expectations.
Tesla Inc plunged 6.5% after the electric-vehicle maker doubled its discount offering on models in the US this month, amid concerns over softening demand.
Losses in rate-sensitive growth stocks saw technology and consumer discretionary sectors lead losses among the 11 major S&P 500 sub-indexes.
The final estimate of the third-quarter US gross domestic product revealed the economy grew at a 3.2% annualized rate, above the previous estimate of 2.9%.
Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing for state unemployment benefits increased to 216,000 last week, much below economists’ estimate of 222,000, indicating a still-tight labor market.
“The GDP data beat a lot of expectations. There are concerns that the economy is not giving up too easily and it’s putting up a fight that will likely require the Fed to remain hawkish and keep interest rates higher for longer,” Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York, said.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was also set for its worst single-day performance in two months as shares of Micron Technology Inc, Nvidia Corp, Qualcomm Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc fell between 4.4% and 7.4%.
Fears of a recession following the US central bank’s prolonged interest rate hikes have weighed heavily on equities this year, with the benchmark S&P 500 set for annual declines of 20%, its worst such performance since the 2008 financial crisis. Bets for a 25-basis point hike to 4.5%-4.75% in February by the Fed remained largely unchanged at 71.4% following the data on Thursday, although expectations for the terminal rate inched up to 4.89% by May 2023.
At 11:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 500.33 points, or 1.50%, at 32,876.15, the S&P 500 was down 76.56 points, or 1.97%, at 3,801.88, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 303.39 points, or 2.83%, at 10,405.98.
CarMax Inc slid 7.5% to the bottom of the S&P 500 after the used-vehicles retailer paused share buybacks following an 86% plunge in quarterly profit.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc slumped 13.6% after the world’s largest cinema chain said it would raise $110 million through a preferred stock sale. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 5.42-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.86-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and 15 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 303 new lows.
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