17/04/24 Briefing

US stocks fell on Wednesday, struggling to mount a comeback as investors' interest rate worries coincided with a fresh slate of corporate earnings.

After all three major indexes started the day in the green, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended down about 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lost a more modest 0.1%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the losses, falling over 1%.

Big Tech drove the market action, with Nvidia (NVDA) falling almost 4% and Meta (META) sliding over 1%. The tech sector (XLK) was the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500, falling nearly 1.5%.

Stocks have struggled to reprise their early-year rally, buffeted most recently by worries over heightened tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over the timing and depth of rate cuts.

Another bump came on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's downbeat comments on inflationprompted some to recalibrate their bets on a September cut to December.

After robust big bank results signaled a return to strength on Wall Street, investors are looking to earnings season to give stocks a push upward. United Airlines (UAL) shares rose more than 17% after posting a revenue beat late Tuesday.

But shares of ASML (ASML) fell more than 7% in New York after the Dutch company's quarterly update. ASML, the largest supplier of equipment to chipmakers worldwide, missed order estimates, though its sales to China held up amid US curbs.