The main US stock market indices opened sharply lower on Thursday, extending losses from the FOMC's decision to hold fund rates steady the previous day.
Tech-heavy Nasdaq index sank 1.27% or nearly 300 points lower to open at 21,872.07, both S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average opened nearly 1% lower at 6,562.98 and 45,810.54 respectively.
As of 10:31 a.m. EST, S&P 500 traded 0.6% lower at 6,586.36, Dow Jones traded 0.8% lower at 45,854.15, and Nasdaq traded 0.6% lower at 6,586.36.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to hold fund rates between 3.5% and 3.75% for the second time on signs and projections of elevated inflation in the economy.
Core inflation rate is expected to be at 2.7% by end of 2026, up from 2.5% forecast in December. Powell, in his speech, said, "Near term inflation expectation are up in the recent weeks."
ALSO READ: Federal Reserve Chair Powell To Stay Until DOJ Investigation Is Over
In addition, the dot plot indicates that Fed is expected to lower rates by a quarter-point in 2026 and another quarter-point in 2027, the same as they projected in December
Wall Street plunged at close on Wednesday, marking its sharpest post-Fed decision declines since December 2024. The Dow dropped roughly 768 points or 1.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively.
Soaring crude oil prices also weighed on the indices, with the global benchmark Brent Crude racing past $111, up by nearly 4%. West Texas Intermediate traded 0.74% higher at $96.17.
After the market opened, only two of the 11 sectoral indices traded in the green. Gains were only seen in the Utilities sector and Energy sector, whereas, Materials sector, Industrials sector, and Consumer Discretionary sector.
Most of the magnificent seven stocks declined, with major losses in Tesla Inc. which slumped over 3% to $380.62. Similarly, Amazon.com Inc. and Nvidia Corp. slipped over 1% to $206.86 and $177.57.
In a positive, shares of Accenture PLC jumped over 3% within an hour of market open on Q2 results and healthy FY26 outlook.
ALSO READ: Accenture Q2 Results: Revenue Up 8%, New Bookings At $22 Billion
The Dollar Spot Index was little changed, while euro rose 0.2% to $1.1480, British pound rose 0.3% to $1.3296, and the Japanese yen rose 0.7% to 158.79 per dollar.
Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency fell 2.7% to $69,307.57.
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