Stocks slumped on Wednesday as doubts about rate cuts weighed on investors dealing with a busy day of earnings highlighted by Boeing (BA) and Tesla (TSLA).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell more than 400 points, or nearly 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slid about 1.6%, leading the way down, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) was off more than 0.9%.
The rally in stocks has stalled as investors debate how quickly the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates over the next year. Gloom about the prospect of rates staying higher for longer has dragged on bond prices in recent days, sending the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) to levels not seen since July. The yield rose again on Wednesday, hitting 4.24%.
Several big tech names were lagging leading ahead of Tesla's (TSLA) earnings report expected after the bell on Wednesday, with Meta (META) falling more than 3%. Amazon (AMZN) and Nvidia (NVDA) both slid more than 2.5%.
Tesla's results after the bell offered a sign of hope for big tech. The electric-vehicle maker reported adjusted earnings per shares of $0.72, well above Wall Street's estimate for $0.60. The stock climbed by nearly 8% in after-hours trading.
Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) posted a big loss in its quarterly report before the bell on the same day it will find out whether striking factory workers have voted to accept a pay deal.
