The S&P 500 hits a four-day losing streak as technology stocks weigh on the market

• U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, led by a sharp decline in technology stocks.

• Major indexes fell throughout the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 1%.

• Investors are grappling with the prospect of longer interest rates following comments from Powell on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 ending with its fourth straight loss, as technology stocks dragged the market lower and investors revised their interest rate expectations after Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments this week.

Nvidia led the technology losses on the session, with the chipmaker’s shares down nearly 4%. Tech titans like Netflix, Meta, Apple and Microsoft all traded lower, and the Nasdaq lost more than 1% on Wednesday.

Investors have come to terms with the prospect of longer interest rates, thanks to high inflation numbers in March and Powell’s recent guidance on rate cuts in 2024. The Fed chairman warned that central bankers needed more confidence that inflation would return to normal. level of inflation. reach the 2% target, implying that rates would remain higher for longer than investors expected.

The Fed also rolled out its April Beige Book on Wednesday, which showed some central bankers are concerned that inflation could rebound.

“On balance, contacts expected inflation to remain stable at a slow pace. At the same time, contacts in a few districts – mainly manufacturers – saw upside risks to near-term inflation in both input and output prices,” the paper said. Beige Book said.

Markets now view a Fed rate cut in June as unlikely, seeing only a 16% chance the Fed will cut at the June FOMC meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Most investors expect only one to two rate cuts by December by the end of the year, compared to six rate cuts expected in January.

Investors are waiting for comments from Fed officials after the closing bell and throughout the day Thursday, which could provide more direction for the Fed’s policy for the rest of the year.

Here’s where the US indexes stood at 4pm on Wednesday:

Here’s what else is happening today:

The story continues

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3.05% to $82.76 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 2.9% to $87.41 per barrel.

• Gold fell 0.55% to $2,369 an ounce.

• The yield on ten-year government bonds fell by seven basis points to 4.583%.

• Bitcoin fell 3.06% to $61,063.

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