U.S. stocks fell dramatically Wednesday, extending the slide that began earlier this month after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate.
The Nasdaq fell by 4.4 percent, nearing correction territory — as defined by a 10 percent drop from its peak — due largely to a decline in the tech sector. The S&P 500 and the Dow, meanwhile, dipped 3.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively, wiping out all gains they’d made this year.
The losses came as concerns over underwhelming quarterly earnings reports sparked pessimism among traders.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell more than 5 percent, as did Facebook, while Apple fell 3.4 percent. AT&T plummeted more than 8.1 percent after releasing disappointing quarterly numbers.
President Trump resumed his attack on the Federal Reserve Tuesday after the Dow dropped 500 points only to recover later in the day.
“Every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates,” Trump said of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who he added “almost looks like he’s happy raising interest rates.”
Trump, who made a habit of taking credit for the previously soaring market, has turned to deriding the Fed’s increasingly tight monetary policy to explain the downturn.