Investing.com – U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as Nvidia struggled to outperform its earnings, and sentiment was further soured by the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting that showed Fed members worried about cutting interest rates too soon.
At 15:02 ET (1812 GMT), the index was down 150 points, or 0.4%, down 0.5% and down 1.1%.
Fed minutes show Fed members are not keen to support rate cuts
Fed policymakers signaled there was no immediate need to move to rate cuts as concerns about “upside risks” to inflation began to surface, according to minutes of the Jan. 30-31 Federal Reserve meeting released Wednesday.
In another sign that more confidence is needed to slow inflation further, the minutes also noted “uncertainty surrounding how long monetary policy will have to maintain its contractionary stance.”
Treasury yields remained near session highs after the minutes, with the rate-sensitive yield on the two-year Treasury note rising 4 basis points to 4.655%.
Nvidia Extends Tech Losses as Pre-Earnings Fluctuate; Palo Alto falls sharply as forecasts cut
Nvidia (NASDAQ:) shares fell more than 3%, adding to a 4% loss a day earlier, as concerns persist ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly results.
The company is expected to report earnings of $4.58 on revenue of $20.37 billion, up significantly from the same period a year ago.
But doubts about Nvidia’s prospects and an inflated price-to-earnings ratio have prompted some profit-taking for the chip maker, which has hit record highs in recent sessions.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:) shares fell more than 28% after cutting its full-year guidance as the cybersecurity company changed its strategy by increasing its free product offerings, which is expected to put pressure on billing growth over 12 to 18 months for clients. in hopes of speeding up the adoption of their proposals.
Teledoc and SolarEdge hit weaker outlook; Wingstop’s weaker revenue growth offsets fourth-quarter earnings decline
Teladoc (NYSE:) shares fell 25% on disappointing first-quarter guidance as lower returns on marketing spend on its BetterHelp therapeutics platform are expected to continue in the coming months.
At the same time, shares of SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:) fell 12% on weak first-quarter revenue guidance as excess inventory is expected to continue to weigh on profitability. The solar company’s management has tried to tout potential earnings drivers, Oppenheimer said, but “we believe SEDG’s diversity of products and end markets indicates the potential for an uneven recovery.”
Wingstop (NASDAQ:) shares fell 5% as the restaurant chain’s better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings were overshadowed by a fourth straight quarterly revenue decline.
Amazon exits, Walgreen withdraws alliance from Dow Jones Industrial Average
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) shares rose 0.3% as the e-commerce giant is set to replace Walgreen Boosts Alliance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average before markets open on February 26. The move was prompted by Walmart’s decision to conduct a 3-for-1 stock split, which will reduce its weight in the index.
Amazon’s weight will be 17th out of 30 stocks in the index, while Walmart’s (NYSE:) weight will fall to 26th from 17th.
(Peter Nurse and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)