US: Market falls on tech stocks pullback

The US stock market finished session in negative territory on Wednesday, 24 March 2021, as risk appetite receded on continued pullback by treasury yields and lingering concerns about the outlook for high-flying growth companies. However, market losses capped on optimism about the economic recovery after remarks by the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 3.09 points or 0.01% to 32,420.06 and the S&P 500 dropped 21.38 points or 0.55% to 3,889.14. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 265.81 points or to 2.01% 12,961.89.

The weakness on Wall Street emerged on lingering concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies. investors sold last year's big performers, the technology shares that doubled the Nasdaq index from year-ago lows, and bought the underpriced value-oriented stocks poised to do well in the recovery.

Investors have focused on the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, pondering whether there is room for long-term interest rates to run. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped 3 basis points to 1.61% Wednesday (compared with 1.729% last Friday.), falling for a third day after the rate hit a 14-month high last week.

Shares of technology companies led led decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Apple Inc, Tesla Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp ended lower. Intel Corp shares retreated 2.3% after earlier gains as the company, in its efforts to expand chipmaking capacity, announced plans to spend as much as $20 billion to build two factories in Arizona and open its factories to outside customers.

GameStop Corp tumbled 33.8% after the videogame retailer said it might cash in on a meteoric rise in its share price to fund its e-commerce expansion.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Durable Goods Orders Fall 1.1% In February-US durable goods orders slumped by 1.1% in February after spiking by an upwardly revised 3.5% in January, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday. Orders for transportation equipment showed a notable pullback, tumbling by 1.6% in February after soaring by 7.5% in January. Partly reflecting ongoing plant shutdowns stemming from a global semiconductor shortage, orders for motor vehicles and parts plunged by 8.7%. Excluding the steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still fell by 0.9% in February after surging up by 1.6% in January.

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