Stocks fell broadly in morning trading on Wall Street today as investors review the latest batch of corporate earnings and continue monitoring rising inflation and the virus pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6% as of 10:30 a.m. Central. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 516 points, or 1.4%, to 35,395 and the Nasdaq fell 2.1%.
Technology stocks and banks led the market lower. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 2.3% and JPMorgan Chase fell 3.5%.
Goldman Sachs fell 7.7% after the investment bank said its fourth-quarter profits fell by 13% from a year earlier, largely due to the bank preparing to pay out hefty pay packages to staff.
The losses were broad. More than 90% of stocks in the S&P 500 fell. The benchmark index is also coming off of two straight weekly losses as investors grow more cautious amid rising inflation and the lingering threat from the virus pandemic.
Big technology stocks, which have an outsized influence on the S&P 500 because of their high valuations, have been weighing heavily on the market throughout January. Investors have been shifting money in anticipation of rising interest rates, which tend to make pricey tech stocks less attractive.
The Federal Reserve hastened its plan to trim its bond purchases and is considering raising interest rates earlier and more often than Wall Street had expected less than a year ago.
Bond yields jumped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.84% from 1.77% late Friday.
Energy stocks were one bright spot in the market, gaining ground over supply fears following an attack on an oil facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. U.S. crude oil prices rose 1.6% and Exxon Mobil gained 2.5%.
Activision Blizzard surged 27.5% on news of a blockbuster deal. Microsoft, which fell 0.5%, is buying the maker of games like “Call of Duty” and ”Candy Crush” for $68.7 billion.
Investors have a busy week of earnings reports ahead. A key focus will be on how companies in different industries are handling persistent supply chain issues. Many companies have already warned about the impact on their finances and operations, despite raising prices on consumer goods to offset the impact.
Bank of America, UnitedHealth and United Airlines report results on Wednesday. American Airlines, Union Pacific and Netflix report their results on Thursday.