Stocks were lower at the halfway point Thursday in volatile trading, with the Dow Industrials down more than 1,000 points over two days. The S&P 500 fell more than a percent, while the Nasdaq fared slightly better.
The tech-heavy index saw fractional declines a day after a rout in tech stocks marked the worst market drop in eight months. Major tech companies like Microsoft ($MSFT), Facebook ($FB), and Alphabet ($GOOGL) had rebounded from Wednesday's losses with slight gains.
The continued sell-off was due in part to concerns about tightening monetary policy. President Trump has broken from tradition and repeatedly criticized the Fed for raising interest rates. He continued to attack Fed Chair Jerome Powell Thursday, saying he was "disappointed" in "far too stringent" rate hike decisions.
Earlier in the day, stocks briefly turned positive before extending their losses.
Higher rents and food prices boosted overall U.S. inflation in December, a sign that the Federal Reserve's drive to slow inflation to its 2% target will likely remain a bumpy one.
Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest gadgets at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. And that includes new technology that's changing the world of food and drinks.
Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, gives Cheddar the latest on the Securities and Exchange Commission approval of bitcoin ETFs. Hougan calls this time a 'potential major milestone for bitcoin.'
