Stocks Dive at Close in Key Week for Central Banks: Markets Wrap
- Economists expect Fed to accelerate taper, quicken hikes
- ECB, BOE, BOJ’s policy decisions also due in next few days
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Markets around the globe prepared for a wave of central bank decisions, with traders weighing the potential impacts of less generous monetary settings amid coronavirus challenges and lofty equity valuations.
Stocks extended losses into the close as the S&P 500 dropped from a record, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 underperformed major benchmarks. A gauge of megacap companies slumped, with electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. down about 5%. Apple Inc. slipped after the iPhone maker approached a $3 trillion market value. Travel shares such as airlines, cruise operators and hotels sank. Bonds and the dollar climbed. A selloff in Bitcoin pushed the world’s largest cryptocurrency below a closely watched level.