The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.82% to 33,811.40 points. You should go back to October 28, 2020 to find a more punitive session for the blue-chip index.
The S&P 500 ended the day 2.77% lower to close at 4,271.78 points, and the Nasdaq Technology Composite Index fell 2.55% to 12,839.29 points. Both indices have not incurred losses of this magnitude since March 7.
US stocks were pressured by lower-than-expected company results and/or disappointing billing expectations, but also by input price data from S&P Global, which showed the biggest rise since it began compiling. The rise in these prices is due to the significant increase in the costs of raw materials, fuel, transportation and salaries.
On the corporate front, Verizon Communications cut its earnings forecast for the year and its shares fell 5.79%, the biggest drop in two years, while American Express pointed to a sharp rise in costs in the first quarter, with shares losing 2.8%.
Among the technology giants, Apple’s stock fell 2.78%, Amazon lost 2.66%, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, lost 4.15%, while Meta, the owner of Facebook, fell 2.11%, and Microsoft lost 2.41%.