Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell broadly on Tuesday amid a skyrocketing dollar, providing fresh indications that the Federal Reserve could lift interest rates quicker than previously anticipated.
Following an off session on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday, traders continued to react to comments from Janet Yellen last Friday when the Federal Reserve chair hinted that the U.S. Central Bank could raise rates at some point this year if the economy continued to improve. As a result, the dollar soared at one point by more than 1.35% on the session, its highest daily-gain in nearly two years. A stronger dollar weighs on exports for multinational companies, prompting a sell-off among blue-chip stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 185 points to fall below its 50-day moving average, while the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 Composite index each dropped by more than 1% on a bearish day for stocks.
The Dow fell 190.48 or 1.04% to 18,041.54, as all but one of its 30 components closed in the red. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) both weighed, each falling by at least 1.2% on the session. Apple, the Dow's worst performer on the session, plummeted 2.81 or 2.12% to 129.73, amid a reshuffling in the company's leadership team. Under the change, Jony Ive will assume a new position as the company's Chief Design Officer, but will move away from day-to-day operations at Apple's interface and industrial design divisions.
EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD), the top performer on the Dow, gained 0.04 or 0.06% to close at 70.83.
The NASDAQ dropped 56.61 or 1.11% to 5,032.75, moving away from record territory, while the S&P 500 fell 21.86 or 1.03% to 2,104.20. Though all 10 sectors on the S&P 500 closed in the red, stocks in the Energy, Technology and Basic Materials industries lagged, each declining by more than 1.3% on the session.
Charter Communications Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) finished as the biggest gainer on the NASDAQ, after St. Louis-based cable and high-speed internet company agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC) for $55.8 billion. A large portion of the deal, which is valued at $195 a share, is in cash according to a report from CNBC. Shares in Charter rose 5.07 or 2.89% to 180.40, while shares in Time Warner gained 12.51 or 7.31% to 183.69.
The worst performer was Liberty Ventures (NASDAQ:LVNTA), after the Colorado-based mass-media company reached an agreement with Liberty Broadband to invest $2.4 billion in support of the Charter-Time Warner merger. Liberty Ventures fell 3.43 or 7.68% to 41.24.
Time Warner finished as the top performer on the S&P 500, ahead of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) which gained 4.62 or 2.64% to 179.95. The worst performer on the S&P was First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) after the Arizona-based solar panel maker was downgraded to an underperform by analysts from RBC. First Solar lost 3.86 or 7.01% to close at 51.21.