Dipo Olowookere
By Investors Hub
The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Wednesday following the sell-off seen in afternoon trading on Tuesday.
Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves following the recent volatility on Wall Street, which has led to wild swings by the major averages.
The upcoming three-day weekend may also contribute to choppy trading, as some traders will be looking to get a head start on the holiday.
After moving mostly higher in morning trading on Tuesday, stocks showed a substantial move to the downside in the afternoon. The major averages pulled back firmly into negative territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq largely offsetting the rally seen in the previous session.
The major averages all closed in the red, although the Nasdaq underperformed its counterparts. The Nasdaq plummeted 211.74 points or 2.9 percent to 7,008.81, while the Dow slumped 344.89 points or 1.4 percent to 23,857.71 and the S&P 500 tumbled 45.93 points or 1.7 percent to 2,612.62.
The afternoon sell-off on Wall Street was led by technology stocks, as reflected by the particularly steep loss posted by the Nasdaq.
Social media giant Facebook (FB) helped to lead the way lower, extending a recent downtrend following news CEO Mark Zuckerberg is planning to testify before Congress in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Within the tech sector, semiconductor stocks saw considerable weakness, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 3.8 percent. The index pulled back sharply after jumping by 4.2 percent on Monday.
Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) showed a steep drop after halting testing of its driverless technology on public roads following a fatal crash involving a self-driving car.
Biotechnology stocks also showed a significant move to the downside on the day, as reflected by the 3.3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Retail, banking, and energy stocks also came under pressure on the day, while utilities stocks bucked the downtrend on Wall Street.
On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer confidence in the month of March.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 127.7 in March from a downwardly revised 130.0 in February.
The drop surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to 131.0 from the 130.8 originally reported for the previous month.
