WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Wednesday, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the downside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss.
Currently, the major averages are off their worst levels but still in negative territory. The Nasdaq is down 327.15 points or 1.9 percent at 16,496.01 and the S&P 500 is down 56.43 points or 1.1 percent at 5,340.20, while the narrower Dow is posting a more modest loss, down 100.87 points or 0.3 percent at 40,268.09.
The weakness on Wall Street comes amid a steep drop by shares of Nvidia (NVDA), with the AI darling plunging 7.2 percent on the day.
The slump by Nvidia comes after the company said its first quarter results are expected to include up to approximately $5.5 billion of charges associated with its H20 integrated circuits.
Nvidia noted in an SEC filing that the U.S. government now requires a license for the export of the graphics processing units to China and other countries.
Dutch chipmaker ASML (ASML) has also tumbled by 5.2 percent after warning of increased uncertainty around its outlook for 2025 and 2026 due to U.S. tariffs.
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing a sharp increase by retail sales in the month of March.
The Commerce Department said retail sales shot up by 1.4 percent in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected retail sales to jump by 1.3 percent.
The surge by retail sales partly reflected a significant rebound by sales by motor vehicles and parts dealers, which soared by 5.3 percent in March after tumbling by 1.6 percent in February.
Excluding the sharp increase in auto sales, retail sales rose by 0.5 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showing industrial production decreased by slightly more than expected in March due to a steep drop by utilities output.
The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in February.
Economists had expected industrial production to dip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks are moving sharply lower amid the slumps by Nvidia and ASML, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 3.5 percent.
Considerable weakness is also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.
Software, transportation and computer hardware stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while gold and energy stocks are bucking the downtrend amid sharp increases by the price of gold and crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.9 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.0 basis points at 4.343 percent.
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