S&P 500 Stumbles on Intel-Led Dent in Chips, Economic Jitters

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Investing.com — The S&P 500 stumbled Wednesday, as an Intel-led dent in tech stocks and ongoing worries about an economic stumble on the horizon amid rampant inflation weighed on sentiment.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.9%, or 298 points, and the Nasdaq fell 0.8%.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell more than 5% after the chipmaker touted an “incrementally more cautious” view on its near-term outlook amid pressure from falling demand as clients cut inventory levels.

The downbeat remarks triggered a wave of downgrades from analysts on Wall Street and soured sentiment on chip stocks, which fell nearly 3% midday.

The broader tech sector, meanwhile, was under pressure by a fresh climb in Treasury yields, with the 10-Year topping 3% amid ongoing bets for the Federal Reserve to stay the course on rate hikes to tackle inflation just as cracks appear in the economy.

Mortgage demand in May slumped to the lowest level in 22 years following a jump in mortgage rates, fueled by Fed rate hikes.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), however, bucked the trend lower rising about 1% as the social media company is reportedly willing to give Musk the information demanded on fake user and spam accounts on the social media platform. Earlier this week, Musk threatened to walk away from the deal after alleging the social media company’s unwillingness to provide the data had “materially” breached the deal terms.   

The earnings front, meanwhile, offered further evidence that inflation pressures continue to build.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) raised its full-year profit guidance after reporting quarterly results that beat on both the top and bottom lines, though it said it expects core inflation to run above its outlook. Its shares were up about 2%.

Robinhood Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD), down 5%, added to the losses from a day earlier after Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler unveiled a plan to change how retail stock trades are executed that many fear could dent the trading platform’s growth.

Under the plan, Gensler proposed that trading firms would compete to handle trades from retail investors.