The Nasdaq plummeted 486.18 points (2.2%) to 22,078.05, the S&P 500 plunged 103.40 points (1.6%) to 6,538.76 and the Dow slumped 386.51 points (0.8%) to 45,752.26.
The early surge in the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average quickly faded after a strong start fueled by upbeat earnings from Nvidia. Despite initially jumping over 5%, Nvidia's stock reversed course to close down 3% as profit-taking and rate uncertainty weighed on sentiment.
Market optimism was dampened by mixed labor data showing strong job growth but a slight uptick in unemployment, complicating the Federal Reserve's policy outlook. Expectations for a December rate cut slipped sharply, with the CME Group FedWatch Tool showing just a 39.8% chance'down dramatically from nearly 99% a month earlier.
Computer hardware stocks extended the sharp pullback , dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 8.8%. Gold stocks were substantially weak, as reflected by the 5.4% nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. Semiconductor stocks too showed a stunning downturn, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 4.8% after surging by as much as 3.2%. Networking, oil service and brokerage stocks too came under considerable selling pressure, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.7% and South Korea's Kospi jumped by 1.9%, although China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the uptrend and fell by 0.4%. Most European stocks also moved to the upside while the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5%, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2%.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher in reaction to the unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell 2.7 basis points to 4.10%.
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