Wednesday wasn't a great day to be holding tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite plunged more than 400 points as investors headed for the exits on AI and technology names, dragging the broader market lower and pushing sentiment indicators into uncomfortable territory.
The selloff was particularly brutal for some of the market's recent darlings. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) dropped around 4%, marking its steepest single-day decline in two months and sinking to levels not seen since mid-September. Meanwhile, Oracle Corp. (ORCL) slid 5.4%, extending a painful drawdown that has now reached nearly 50% from the all-time highs it hit back in October. That's the kind of correction that tests even the most devoted bulls.
Not everything was doom and gloom, though. General Mills Inc. (GIS) managed to brighten the mood a bit by posting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and reaffirming its fiscal 2026 outlook. Jabil Inc. (JBL) also delivered upbeat earnings for its first quarter, proving that good news can still break through the noise.
On the economic front, mortgage applications fell 3.8% in the week ended December 12, reversing a 4.8% gain from the previous period. Not exactly the kind of data to inspire confidence in housing momentum.
The sector breakdown told a familiar story. Most areas of the S&P 500 closed in the red, with information technology, communication services, and industrials taking the hardest hits. Consumer staples and energy stocks managed to buck the trend, closing higher even as the broader market struggled.
When the dust settled, the Dow Jones closed lower by around 228 points to 47,885.97. The S&P 500 fell 1.16% to 6,721.43, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.81% to 22,693.32.
Looking ahead, investors are awaiting earnings results from Accenture Plc (ACN), FedEx Corp. (FDX), and Nike Inc. (NKE) today.
When Fear Takes Over
The market malaise showed up clearly in the CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which dropped to 39.1 on Wednesday from a prior reading of 45.5. That shift moved the index into "Fear" territory, reflecting the anxious mood that gripped traders.
For those unfamiliar, the Fear & Greed Index measures current market sentiment based on a simple premise: fear puts downward pressure on stock prices, while greed drives them higher. The index crunches seven equal-weighted indicators to produce a reading between 0 and 100, where 0 represents maximum fear and 100 signals peak greediness. At 39.1, we're not at panic levels yet, but the nervousness is definitely building.