Thursday, February 03, 2022

DJIA: 35,111.16, down 518.17
S&P 500: 4,477.44, down 111.94
Nasdaq: 13,878.82, down 538.73

Nasdaq 100 drops most since September 2020

U.S. stocks finished lower on Thursday as disappointing quarterly results from tech-related companies dampened demand for growth-related shares. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.7%, while the mega-cap Nasdaq 100 suffered its worst session since September 2020 (-4.2%). The S&P 500 lost 2.4%, but remains in positive territory for the week as the broad benchmark notched a four-session advance of nearly 6% through Wednesday—its strongest such rally since November 2020. The Dow lost 518 points.

Ten of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed in negative territory, with Communication Services leading the decline. Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. tumbled 26.4%–shedding more than $250 billion in market value—on soft guidance and a drop user engagement. Spotify Technology fell 16.8% following lower-than-expected subscriber growth, while semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm Inc.’s results also underwhelmed. Meanwhile, T-Mobile Inc. offered a bright spot, jumping 10.2% after reporting a profit tally that doubled analyst expectations.

On the data front, weekly initial jobless claims came in at 238,000, easing from the previous 261,000 figure. Separately, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) revealed that U.S. services sector growth slowed to its lowest level in 11 months in January, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 59.9 from December’s 62.3 print.

Treasuries weakened following perceived hawkish tilts from global central banks, with the yield on the 10-year note up six basis points (0.06%) to 1.83%. Across the pond, the Bank of England announced back-to-back rate increases for the first time since 2004, while the European Central Bank left rates unchanged but opened the door for future hikes throughout 2022, highlighting inflation concerns.
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