Wall Street Just Had Its Worst Day Since September

Wall Street fell to its worst loss since September after Big Tech stocks got burned by the downside of high expectations and the Federal Reserve indicated cuts to interest rates likely aren't imminent.

• The S&P 500 fell 79.32 points Tuesday, or 1.6%, to 4,845.65 .
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which hit an all-time high Monday, fell 317.01 points, or 0.8%, to 38,150.30.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 345.89 points, or 2.2%, to 15,164.01.

Alphabet was one of the market's heaviest weights, the AP reports. It fell 7.4% after analysts pointed to some concerning trends in how much Google's parent company earning from advertising. Microsoft fell 3.7% despite delivering stronger profit and revenue than expected.

Tesla, another member of the group of stocks nicknamed the "Magnificent Seven," fell 2.2%. A judge in Delaware ruled a day earlier that its CEO, Elon Musk, is not entitled to the landmark compensation package awarded him by Tesla that's potentially worth more than $55 billion. The Magnificent Seven were responsible for the majority of the S&P 500's return last year, and three more members are scheduled to report their latest quarter results on Thursday: Amazon, Apple, and Meta Platforms. Expectations are high for them, too. Advanced Micro Devices is not a member of the Magnificent Seven, but it benefits from many of the same trends. It fell 2.5% even though it matched analysts' expectations for profit in the latest quarter and edged past them for revenue.

The Fed on Wednesday left its main interest rate steady at its highest level since 2001. Perhaps disappointingly for investors, it also made clear that it "does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward" its goal of 2%. "We're not declaring victory at all," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said. Powell acknowledged the difficult position the Fed is in, with dangers arising from both acting too quickly and too late, even though "overall it's a good picture" for the economy at the moment. Cutting rates too soon could reignite inflationary pressures, while acting too late would mean unnecessary pain for the economy and job market.

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