US stock markets fell sharply today as comments from leading financial institution chiefs about overvaluation of stocks fueled fears of an impending correction. Investors are questioning the sustainability of the growth, which is narrowly driven by only a few tech giants.
The S&P 500 index fell by 1.19% to 6770.55 points. The tech Nasdaq Composite fell 1.86% to 23,391.61 points, and the industrial Dow Jones Industrial average lost 0.7% to 47,005.6 points.The sell-off was mainly seen in the information technology (down 2%), consumer staples (down 1.8%) and communications services (down 1.6%) sectors. Conversely, more defensive sectors remained stable. The best performing sector is the financial sector, which grew by 0.3%, essential consumption added 0.1% and health care stayed around zero.
Within the S&P 500 index, the biggest gains were recorded by Henry Schein (HSIC +8.6%), Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD +8.4%) and DuPont de Nemours (DD +8.1%). Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH -15%), Zoetis (ZTS -13%) and CDW Corp/DE (CDW -9.3%) suffered the biggest declines.
The yield on 10-year US Treasuries fell three basis points to 4.09%. The dollar remains at strong levels and strengthens against the euro and the british pound, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot index rising by 0.3%. cryptocurrencies are experiencing a sharp decline. bitcoin loses 5.4% to trade at $101,105.93. In commodity markets, West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $60.75 a barrel. Spot gold eased 1.2% to $3,953.66 an ounce.
Index Dow Jones -0.7% to 47005.6.
S&P 500 -1.19% to 6770.55.
Nasdaq Composite -1.86% to 23391.61.