The US markets ended lower on Wednesday, with Nasdaq dropping over two percent, on lingering concerns about the outlook for high-growth companies contributed to the sell-off by technology stocks, which have seen considerable volatility in recent sessions. Within the tech sector, shares of Intel (INTC) showed a substantial downturn on the day, slumping by 2.3 percent after spiking by 6.2 percent to its best intraday level in over a year in early trading. Further, investors remained concerned about Europe’s recent struggles with limiting the spread of coronavirus. Germany reversed plans for a stricter lockdowns over the Easter holiday, but worries remain about a potentially slower economic recovery for the region, even as fresh economic data have provided a bright spot.
On the economic data front, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for US manufactured durable goods unexpectedly decreased in the month of February. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slumped by 1.1 percent in February after spiking by an upwardly revised 3.5 percent in January. The pullback came as a surprise to participants, who had expected durable goods orders to climb by 0.8 percent compared to the 3.4 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month. Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders still fell by 0.9 percent in February after surging up by 1.6 percent in January. Street had expected a 0.6 percent increase.
Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.09 points or 0.01 percent to 32,420.06, Nasdaq dropped 265.81 points or 2.01 percent to 12,961.89 and S&P 500 was down by 21.38 points or 0.55 percent to 3,889.14.