The sell-off in US stock markets intensified on Monday despite positive news on COVID-19 treatments, with the Nasdaq down 2.1%.
The biggest detractor was the threat of higher inflation and a higher bond rate, effectively reducing the valuation or discount rates on high growth tech names.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones both outperformed in comparison, falling 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively, as the oil price hit a new eight-year high. In Germany, power contracts hit record levels.
Facebook outages
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) was the major detractor, falling over 5% as the company deals with a bombshell interview from a whistle-blower questioning its censorship and approach to the safety of its users. The company also had a mass outage overnight affecting Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Tesla boost
General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported a big fall in third-quarter sales as the semiconductor shortage hits supply. On the other hand, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) avoided the issues, delivering 241,000 vehicles, 73% higher than 2020 levels.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks started the week on Monday.
- Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) up 2.9%
- Merck (NYSE: MRK) up 2.1%
- Mastercard (NSYE: MA) down 4.4%
- NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) down 4.9%
- Square (NYSE: SQ) down 5.5%
- Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) down 5.8%
Back home on the ASX, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is following US markets lower this morning. In early morning trade, the ASX 200 is down 0.6%. For a recap of all the latest news, check out my ASX 200 morning report.
