Wall Street Ends Rising Rally with Tech Stocks Leading Losses

The main indices of the New York Stock Exchanges (NYSE) closed lower on Tuesday, ending a rally that saw new record highs on the back of positive earnings reports by some of Wall Street’s blue chips.

Concerns over the spread of the Delta variant, which led the CDC to recommend a return to wearing masks even by those who are vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19), are impacting the market, while investors await signs from the Federal Reserve on how it plans to scale back its massive bond-buying.

The meeting of the U.S. monetary policymakers is concluding tomorrow, with expectations that members of the Federal Open Market Committee will begin a discussion on how to reduce the $120 billion monthly asset purchases, as it aims to ensure a certain balance between combating the surge in inflation and the continuous support to economic recovery.

Moreover, a crackdown by the Chinese government on tech companies is reflecting on the investors’ sentiment across major markets.

Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 85.79 points, or 0.2%, to close at 35,058.52, points, while the S&P 500 declined by 20.84 points, or 0.5%, and settled at 4,401.46 points, after both indices logged new all-time high closing levels on Monday.

The Nasdaq Composite index saw the largest loss and plunged by 180.14 points, or 1.2%, to finish at 14,660.58 points. In the biggest decline in a single session for the tech-savvy index since mid-May.

The decline ends a five-session rising streak in Wall Street, with the Fed report and remarks as well as GDP growth reading for the second quarter set to help identify the direction of U.S. stocks and investors’ sentiment.

The Conference Board index showed earlier today that U.S. consumer confidence surged to its highest level in about 17 months, restoring its pre-pandemic level for the very first time.