Wall Street Just Had Its Worst Day in Weeks

Big Tech stocks pulled Wall Street down to its worst day in three weeks Tuesday.

• The S&P 500 fell 52.30 points, or 1%, to 5,078.65, its second straight drop after closing last week at an all-time high.
• The Dow Jones ones Industrial Average fell 404.64 points, or 1%, to 38,585.19.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 267.92 points, or 1.7%, to 15,939.59.

Apple was one of the heaviest weights on the market, falling 2.8%. It's been struggling on worries about sluggish iPhone sales in China.

Apple is one of several Big Tech stocks that have struggled recently under the weight of much higher expectations after running much higher in price over the last year, the AP reports. A select group known as the "Magnificent Seven" has been responsible for the vast majority of the S&P 500's leap to all-time highs. Drops on Tuesday of 3% for Microsoft, 2% for Amazon and 3.9% for Tesla were also among the heaviest weights on the S&P 500. Bitcoin briefly rose above $69,000 Tuesday, surpassing its record set in 2021, before pulling back toward $60,000. It had been surging in part because of new exchange-traded funds that offer easier access for investors to the cryptocurrency.

Target was helping to limit the market's losses after climbing 12%. It reported a bigger jump in profit for the end of 2023 than analysts expected as it held the line on some expenses. Hopes for coming cuts to interest rates got a boost after a report in the morning showed growth for US construction, health care, and other services industries slowed by more last month than economists expected. Perhaps more importantly for the market, the report also said prices paid by services businesses rose at a slower pace in February than in January. A separate report, meanwhile, said US factory orders weakened by more in January than expected.

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Wall Street's hope has been that the economy will continue plugging along, but not at such a strong pace that it keeps upward pressure on inflation. That's because traders want the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year, something it's hinted it will do only if inflation cools decisively toward its 2% target. Following Tuesday's reports, bets built among traders that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in June. The Fed's main rate is at its highest level since 2001 in hopes of grinding down inflation. Any cuts would relieve pressure on the economy and financial system.

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