Nasdaq sinks after Powell’s comments
Thursday markets were treading water until U.S. Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, announced that inflation will likely rise (albeit temporarily) as the American economy recovers. Markets reacted negatively and sold off, extending the current tech slump. The Nasdaq dove 2.11% while the Dow slid 1.11% and the S&P 1.34%.
Megacap tech name Tesla dropped 4.86%, AMD shed 3.85% and Apple gave up 1.58%. Weed stocks also took a hit as Aphria slid 8%. However, Alphabet was able to rise 1.1%. Apart from energy, all the Dow sectors sagged. Home Depot closed -2.5% and Disney -2.2%. The VIX popped 7% to 28.57 though volumes were mixed among the major exchanges.
The selling spread to Toronto where the TSX lost 1% in heavier-than-normal trading. Stemming overall losses was a rise in oil prices. WTI leapt nearly 5% past $64 per barrel and WCS soared 5.5% to $52.50. Cenovus advanced nearly 5% and Meg soared almost 10%. As in the States, cannabis sold off on the TSX as Aurora fell 6.19% and tech heavyweight Shopify slid 5.76%. Kinaxis plunged 17% after reporting a decent Q4, but missed EPS expectations by a penny and got swept up the broad selling of tech.
🚗 Tesla Motors Inc -4.86%
💾 Advanced Micro Devices -3.85%
🍎 Apple -1.58%
🌿 Aphria Inc -8%
🧮 Alphabet Inc. / Google +1.1%
🛠 Home Depot -2.5%
👸 Walt Disney -2.2%
🛢 Cenovus Energy +5%
🛢 MEG Energy Corp +10%
🌿 Aurora Cannabis -6.19%
🛍 Shopify Inc.-5.76%
💿 Kinaxis Inc -17%
