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Persistent weakness in technology stocks kept the major indexes under pressure on Monday after last week’s hotter-than-expected inflation readings sparked a downturn in equity markets.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 126.5 points to 34,264.35, as Home Depot and Boeing weighed on the blue-chip index.
The S&P 500 fell 15.25 points to 4,158.60.
The NASDAQ slipped 83.46 points to 13,346.52.
Big Tech quickly came under pressure to start the week, with Apple and Facebook each down 0.8%, Netflix down 1% and Google-parent Alphabet shedding 0.6%. Traders have punished the technology sector in recent weeks amid a broader shift out of growth stocks and into cyclical, reopening trades in energy, financials and materials.
Communication services stocks Discovery and AT&T bucked that trend, both up on news of a merger agreement. AT&T announced Monday that it is in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia, which includes HBO, with Discovery. The new entity will trade as its own public company.
Discovery’s Class c stock rose 17.3%, while AT&T added about 4%.
Bitcoin was taken for a wild ride overnight Sunday. Earlier, the price tumbled below $43,000 after Elon Musk implied in a Twitter exchange that Tesla may have dumped its bitcoin holdings. Last week, Tesla said it would no longer accept bitcoin for car purchases due to environmental concerns.
Bitcoin then rebounded some after Musk later clarified in a tweet that the electric vehicle maker "has not sold any Bitcoin." The price was last at $45,505. Tesla stock lost 1.5%.
Elsewhere, the first-quarter earnings season is wrapping up with more than 90% of the S&P 500 companies having reported their results. So far, 86% of S&P 500 companies have reported a positive EPS surprise, which would mark the highest percentage of positive earnings surprises since 2008 when FactSet began tracking this metric.
Walmart, Home Depot and Macy’s will deliver earnings on Tuesday.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys fell, raising yields to 1.64% from Friday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surged 82 cents to $66.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $28.00 to $1,886.10 U.S. an ounce.
