NEW YORK, May 9 — Wall Street stocks fell early today, extending a rocky run from the end of last week as markets weigh ongoing worries about inflation and higher interest rates.
Investors will focus especially this week on Wednesday’s consumer price report as the Federal Reserve doubles down on interest rate hikes to combat soaring inflation.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note climbed higher, pushing further above three per cent early today.
“With a weekend to think over how last week ended, it is clear this morning that market participants are not yet comfortable with the idea of buying on the weakness,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
“There are misgivings about the achievability of earnings growth estimates and the resiliency of the US consumer in the face of persistent inflation pressures and rising interest rates.”
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5 per cent at 32,395.81.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.9 per cent to 4,045.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.1 per cent to 11,889.02.
Large tech names were generally lower, with Apple, amazon, Google-parent Alphabet and Microsoft all down more than one per cent.
Uber Technologies fell 1.7 per cent as the company reportedly plans to trim expenses and limit additional hiring in response to rising operating costs.
Rivian Automotive plunged nearly 15 per cent following a report that Ford will unload eight million shares of the electric truck maker. — AFP
