The First Slice for Thursday, February 1, 2024

In a surprising turn of events, Big Tech stocks faced a sharp decline on Wall Street, causing a ripple effect throughout the market. This downward trend gained momentum after the Federal Reserve dashed hopes of an interest rate cut in March, which many traders had anticipated. The S&P 500 experienced its worst day since September, falling 1.6%. Throughout the tumultuous afternoon, it struggled to find stability as investors pondered when the Fed might lower its interest rates from the highest level since 2001.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 317.07.
The S&P 500 fell 79.32 points.
The Nasdaq Composite slumped 345.89.

The Nasdaq composite took the hardest hit, dropping 2.2%, largely due to the decline in Big Tech stocks. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with a lesser emphasis on tech, fell by a more modest 0.8%. Even Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw a substantial 7.5% drop in its stock price despite reporting robust profits and revenue for the previous quarter. Analysts pointed out concerning trends in Google’s advertising earnings and the sky-high expectations set for the company after a remarkable stock surge in the past year.

The Federal Reserve’s announcement to keep interest rates steady further exacerbated the situation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed cautious optimism but clarified that rate cuts wouldn’t occur until there’s greater confidence that inflation is moving towards its goal of 2%. This uncertainty about the timing of rate cuts left investors uneasy and led to late-day declines in the market………..[read more]