Big Tech Comes Through

 By Alex Eule | Tuesday, April 25

Wall of Worry. After being stuck in a tight trading range, stocks fell sharply today, with the selloff gaining steam throughout the day. The major indexes had their worst day in at least a month -- the S&P 500 was off 1.6% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 2%. 

The tech-focused decline came with Big Tech companies set to kick off their March-quarter earnings reports tonight.

Heading into today's trading, the Nasdaq had rallied 15% this year, setting high expectations for a tech sector that is still struggling with a slowdown in corporate spending. Today's trading was a chance to take profits heading into the quarterly results. 

The selloff wasn't just about tech, though. Concerns reemerged about the banking sector following last night's earnings report from First Republic, the regional bank that had teetered during the March banking turmoil and received a $30 billion cash infusion from the country's largest banks. We learned last night that it wasn't enough to stem customer withdrawals from the bank. The bank said its deposits fell by 41% during the quarter. Shares ended the day down 49%. The SPDR Regional Banking ETF, whose top holdings include New York Community Bancorp, Regions Financial, and M&T Bank, fell 4.2% on the day.

"FRC's existence still very much hangs in the balance," Wells Fargo analyst Jared Shaw wrote.

Also on the list of worries: a disappointing manufacturing report from the Richmond Fed and a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading for April. That consumer data were based on a survey that ran after the March bank worries, suggesting the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank may have unnerved consumers. 

UPS also delivered an economic fright with a downbeat economic assessment paired with its earnings report. "Given current macro conditions, we expect volume to remain under pressure," UPS CEO Carol Tome said in the company's earnings press release.

"The wall of worry is higher this week,"  Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates wrote today. But "in the bigger picture, second-half earnings overall still indicate a recovery." Sure enough, Big Tech offered a more optimistic picture this evening after markets closed. More on that below.

DJIA: -1.02%. to 33,530.83
S&P 500: -1.58% to 4,071.63
Nasdaq: -1.98% to 11,799.16

The Hot Stock: Brown & Brown +3.2%
The Biggest Loser: First Republic Bank -49.4% 

Best Sector: Utilities -0.1%
Worst Sector: Technology -2.1%