Wall Street Stocks Fall as Fed Meeting Enthusiasm Fades

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Key Takeaways

• Wall Street stocks fall across the board, led by technology shares, as enthusiasm fades
• Bitcoin price is in decline, lower by about 5% for the week as crypto markets wobble

What’s on Focus in the Markets?

Stocks on Wall Street dropped Thursday, a day after investors cheered positive remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The jittery mood in the risky assets led to a 2.5% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. In addition, the broad-based S&P500 followed with a drop of 0.9%. Also, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked lower by 0.1%.

In more detail, technology shares were among the biggest losers of the day, dragging the Nasdaq lower. This said EV maker Tesla lost 5%, while Apple tumbled 4%. Further, Amazon and Microsoft declined 2.5% and 2.9%, respectively.

A day earlier, on Wednesday, stocks across the board jumped as investors welcomed the Fed’s decision to speed up the taper. Tapering, or reducing, the vast monetary stimulus will now happen by $30 billion a month, double the initial wind down.

Moreover, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is looking to raise interest rates at least three times in 2022.

Where Are Stocks Headed?

As a result, concerns weighed on Thursday as the outlook for growth turned rather gloomy. With this in mind, higher volatility has been prevalent in the financial markets recently. The tech sector, in particular, has been swinging between gains and losses as investors scramble to find bargains.

Still, despite the recent drop, major indexes in the US surged to dozens of new all-time highs this year. Presently, the S&P500 is up 26% for the year, after logging its 67th record high of the year last week.

Additionally, the blue-chip Dow Jones is up about 19% since January, while the Nasdaq is higher by roughly 20% for the same period.

What’s the Latest News on Bitcoin?

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets, in the meantime, are floating fairly muted today as traders appear less risk-oriented. The leading crypto asset, bitcoin, is now trading near $47,000, lower for a second-straight day.

On that front, bitcoin has been pressured this week and is on track to finish its fifth consecutive week in negative territory. Still, bitcoin is higher by about 60% from its opening price of 2021.

Moreover, the Ethereum token’s price has also been subdued this week. Presently, Ether is trading slightly above $3,800 and is showing a loss of about 6% for the week.

Despite its recent slide, the second-largest token by value has had a tremendous year. Its price is up more than 400% as the Ethereum blockchain has substantially grown in use worldwide.

In that context, prospects for cryptocurrency markets remain highly positive. To this end, traders and investors anticipate new developments on mainstream adoption and spreading acceptance. Now that banks have hopped aboard, analysts say the fast-developing market is on an upward trajectory heading into 2022.