By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow slumped Wednesday, shrugging off positive vaccine news as an Apple-led rout in tech triggered a sea of red across stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.92%, or 523 points, and was down more than 700 points at the lows. The S&P 500 was down 2.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 3%.
The tech wreck seen in September continued to dominate moves in the broader market, paced by a more 4% decline in Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) ended 3% lower while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) fell 2%.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, fell 10% even as chief executive officer Elon Musk provided an update on full-year delivery targets. Musk forecast vehicle deliveries to increase by 30-to-40% on last year's 367,500 vehicles, implying between 477,750 and 514,500, largely in line with a previous estimate to roll out half a million cars this year.
Energy fell more than 4%, compounding losses in the broader market despite U.S. oil prices ending positive on the day amid data showing crude inventories fell by a less-than-expected 1.639 million barrels last week.
Industrials joined the selloff late in the day as a slump in Transdigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) and Masco (NYSE:MAS) offset gains in Quanta Services (NYSE:PWR) and Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL).
The volatile week for stocks seen so far this week comes as fears over new lockdowns mount amid a resurgence in the coronavirus. President Trump, however, said the U.S. would not be implementing a second lockdown.
Against the backdrop of rising infections, drug makers continued to ramp-up efforts on the vaccine front. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) entered the final stage of clinical trials for its potential single-shot coronavirus vaccine. Its shares ended flat after cutting gains into the close.
In consumer discretionary, Nike (NYSE:NKE) was the standout performer, rallying 9% after the sportswear giant delivered better-than-expected first-quarter earnings thanks to a surge in online sales. "In all, Nike posted a large Q121 beat as the outlook moves higher & is likely conservative in our view with further upside opportunities," Wedbush said in a note.
In other news, The Wall Street Journal reported talks between Nikola and its partners to build hydrogen-refueling stations stalled amid allegations from short-seller Hindenburg that it misled investors. Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) was down 25%.