The US markets ended lower on Wednesday, extending their previous session’s losses as worries about inflation and the bitcoin's sharp plunge weighed on the market. The minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting that showed some of the members were in favor of tapering the bank's asset buying program if the economy continues to show signs of recovery and inflation keeps trending higher weighed as well. Chairman Jerome Powell said that the recovery remains uneven and far from complete and the economy was still not showing the substantial further progress standard the committee has set before it will change policy.
Besides, Technology stocks, including Tesla, which have big exposure to bitcoin, tumbled on selling pressure. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, tanked by close to 40% from its record high levels to $31,000 on Wednesday, hitting its lowest level since February. Cisco Systems plunged more than 7 percent. Chevron shed about 3 percent, while Amgen, Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, DuPont and IBM lost 1 to 2 percent. However, the markets recovered after the bitcoin rebounded from the session's lows.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 164.62 points or 0.48 percent to 33,896.04, Nasdaq lost 3.9 points or 0.03 percent to 13,299.74 and S&P 500 was down by 12.15 points or 0.29 percent to 4,115.68.