On Monday, US benchmark equity indexes experienced a significant decline as rising economic concerns regarding potential recession and increasing inflationary pressures took center stage. The Nasdaq Composite recorded a steep drop of 4%, landing at 17,468.3. In a similar vein, the S&P 500 index fell by 2.7%, settling at 5,614.6, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a decrease of 2.1%, ending at 41,911.7.
Notably, energy and utilities sectors stood as the only gainers in what proved to be a challenging day for investors, with technology stocks facing the steepest downturn. In parallel with this decline in equity markets, US Treasury yields also experienced a reduction. The 10-year Treasury rate dipped approximately 7.2 basis points, now at 4.2%, while the two-year Treasury yield fell by 9 basis points to 3.9%. Turning to the commodities market, April West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw a decline of 1.6%, priced at $65.99 per barrel on Monday. From an economic perspective, the latest survey of consumer expectations conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicated that short-term inflation expectations have seen a slight increase.
In contrast, medium to long-term expectations remained relatively stable. According to the bank, 'Households expressed more pessimism about their year-ahead financial situations in February, while there has been notable deterioration in expectations regarding unemployment, delinquency rates, and access to credit.' In the realm of corporate news, Enphase Energy, listed under the ticker symbol $ENPH, emerged as one of the S&P’s top performers, witnessing a 2.7% increase in shares.
Notably, Thurman Rodgers, a director at the home energy solutions company, sold 100,000 shares for a total of $6.1 million the previous Friday. Additionally, ServiceNow, denoted by the ticker $NOW, has entered into an agreement to acquire the AI startup Moveworks for a whopping $2.85 billion. The news, however, did not favor ServiceNow's stock, which saw a drop of 7.9%. In another significant update, shares of DexCom, referenced by the ticker $DXCM, fell by 9.2%.
The company disclosed that it had received a notice from the US Food and Drug Administration regarding manufacturing and quality management non-conformities uncovered during inspections at its facilities in Mesa, Arizona, and San Diego, California. Moreover, Rocket, with the ticker $RKT.US, has announced its intention to acquire the real-estate brokerage Redfin, which uses the ticker $RDFN, for $1.75 billion in stock.
Following this news, Rocket's shares plummeted by 15%, in stark contrast to Redfin's impressive surge of 68%. Throughout the trading session, Tesla, identified by the ticker $TSLA, Palantir Technologies, marked as $PLTR, and Microchip Technology, listed under $MCHP, experienced the most significant declines within the S&P 500 index on Monday. On a commodities note, gold prices diminished by 0.8%, now at $2,891.30 per troy ounce, while silver saw a slightly larger decrease of 1.3%, settling at $32.38 per troy ounce..