Big Tech Rally Helps Stem Wall St. Losses

First Republic Bank took another big hit
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 26, 2023 4:06 PM CDT
Microsoft Rally Helps Limit Wall St. Losses
The Microsoft logo is pictured outside its headquarters in Paris.   (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

Wall Street closed lower again on Wednesday, though a rally for Microsoft and some other Big Tech stocks helped limit the losses. The S&P 500 dropped 15.64 points, or 0.4%, to 4,055.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228.96, or 0.7%, to 33,301.87, while the Nasdaq composite led the market with a gain of 55.19, or 0.5%, to 11,854.35 . Wall Street was coming off its worst day in a month, hurt by concerns about the strength of US banks.

The spotlight has been harshest on First Republic Bank, which lost another 29.8% after nearly halving the day before, the AP reports. Also dropping sharply Wednesday was Enphase Energy, which fell 25.7% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than forecast. Analysts pointed to its revenue forecast for the current quarter, which fell short of some expectations. Activision Blizzard, meanwhile, tumbled 11.5% after UK regulators blocked its takeover by Microsoft on concerns it would hurt competition in the cloud gaming market.

While the majority of stocks were falling, Microsoft rose 7.2% after reporting stronger profit for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. It carries a huge weight on the S&P 500 because it’s the second-largest stock in the index. Chipotle Mexican Grill rose 12.9% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after reporting stronger profit than expected. PacWest Bancorp, another bank that’s been in investors’ spotlight, rose 7.5% after reporting stronger results than expected.

(More stock market stories.)

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