Shares of Tesla tumbled for a third day, extending their decline to 15% amid a wider tech sell-off as investors reallocate their portfolios away from stocks that outperformed during the pandemic. Comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell failed to ease concerns around both a spike in inflation and a sustained rise in interest rates.
Powell’s lack of comment on the rise in long-term borrowing costs sent the 10-year Treasury yield to 1.53% Thursday. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit, the Fed chair did admit that the recent jump “caught [his] attention”.
Still, policy changes could come as soon as the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on March 16-17.
Peloton and Zoom also saw shares nosedive, sending the Nasdaq 100 toward a correction, typically a 10% slide from a peak. The Nasdaq has thus far erased its year-to-date gain from its February 12 record close. As of 2:15 PM ET, the index had declined by nearly 3%. The S&P 500 also briefly saw 2021 gains erased, but recovered slightly.