S&P suffers worst day since September

Tech sector worries, signal from Fed contribute to drop

NEW YORK — Big Tech stocks burned by the downside of high expectations triggered a sharp slide Wednesday for Wall Street. The market’s losses worsened after the Federal Reserve indicated it probably won’t cut interest rates in March, as many traders had hoped.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.6 percent for its worst day since September. It veered between more modest and sharper losses through a shaky afternoon as traders delayed bets for when the Fed would start easing its main interest rate from its highest level since 2001.

The slide for Big Tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite to a market-leading loss of 2.2 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has less of an emphasis on tech, fell a more modest 0.8 percent, or 317 points.

Alphabet was one of the heaviest weights on the market, and it fell 7.5 percent despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Underneath the surface, analysts pointed to some trends in how much Google’s parent company is earning from advertising.

The bigger challenge, though, might have been the high expectations the company faces after how much its stock soared last year. Other Big Tech stocks likewise struggled Wednesday in the face of high expectations.

Microsoft fell 2.7 percent though it delivered stronger profit and revenue than expected.

Stocks have rallied to records because of hopes that a cooldown in inflation will persuade the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates several times this year.

But the Fed on Wednesday left its main interest rate steady and made clear it “does not expect it will be appropriate” to cut rates “until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward” its goal of 2 percent.

Treasury yields in the bond market swung up and down after the Fed’s announcement. They had been lower earlier after a couple softer-than-expected reports on the economy, suggesting a cooldown that might help suppress inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.92 percent from 4.04 percent late Tuesday. In October, it was above 5 percent and at its highest level since 2007.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 79.32 points to 4,845.65.

The Dow dropped 317.07 to 38,150.30, and the Nasdaq slumped 345.89 to 15,164.01.