US: Stocks fall again as rally fizzles

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks fell again on Thursday after an early rally fizzled as investors shrugged off good economic data amid worries over inflation and tightening monetary policy.

Stocks opened higher after government data showed stronger-than-expected US growth in the fourth quarter. But markets again reversed course midway through the session, repeating the pattern seen in recent trading sessions.

Investors are still adapting to the new world of tighter monetary policy, outlined most recently on Wednesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.

"I think the market is coming to terms with the idea that the Federal Reserve is not going to be as quick to support the market as it has been in the past," Cahill said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down by just a few points at 34,160.78, but that was a drop of more than 600 points compared with earlier in the day.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.5 per cent to close at 4,326.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.4 per cent to 13,352.78.

Among individual companies, Tesla plunged 11.6 per cent despite reporting record annual profits on surging sales, after chief executive Elon Musk warned supply chain problems would persist well into 2022.

Analysts also expressed disappointment that Musk did not offer any fresh details on a coming generation of vehicles.

Intel slumped 7.0 per cent on disappointment over the company's first-quarter projections. Other chip companies were also under pressure including Nvidia and Lam Research.

Netflix jumped 7.5 per cent as billionaire investor Bill Ackman announced buying 3.1 million shares of the streaming service. AFP