Wall Street dips as debt angst spreads to stock market
SPY•Tech and semiconductors lead declines
Among the 11 major sector indexes of the S&P 500, tech and industrials suffered the steepest drops, closing down 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
Chipmakers had a bad day. Stocks that had been the star players so far this year, including Sandisk, Marvell Technology, Micron and Western Digital, sank between about 7% and 9%.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index shed 5.0%.
Healthcare, energy and travel & leisure shares were clear outperformers. Value snatched the torch from growth in another signal of souring risk appetites.
Bonds, housing data and oil shape the backdrop
The bond market hogged the spotlight throughout the trading day, as investors watched global long-term interest rates soar to their highest levels in years amid an increasingly grim geopolitical picture and mounting government debt. Together, these fueled growing uncertainties across asset classes, many of which have arisen from U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic, market-rattling policies on everything from war to tariffs.
On the economic front, a 12.4% plunge in housing starts and an unexpected 2.3% drop in pending home sales underscored ebbing home affordability as 30-year fixed mortgage rates approach their fourth year north of 6% and home prices reach record highs.
Housing stocks were off 1.7% on the day.
Oil settled at a three-week high amid waning hopes for U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.
Stocks end lower as debt concerns hit sentiment
A tech sell-off dragged U.S. stocks to a two-week low on Tuesday as spiking long-term borrowing costs due to the deepening U.S.-Iran quagmire, ballooning government debt and massive artificial intelligence-related expenditures prompted a rotation away from the AI play.
