Wall Street Mixed as Nasdaq Composite Falls for 3rd Session

US stocks were divided in the trading session on February 21, with technology stocks continuing to decline due to worries surrounding Nvidia's business results.

At the end of the trading session on February 21, the Dow Jones index increased 48.44 points (equivalent to 0.13%) to 38,612.24 points. The S&P 500 index added 0.13% to 4,981.80 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.32% to 15,580.87 points.

Nvidia is expected to announce its fourth quarter 2023 business results after Wednesday's session. Concerns around Nvidia's high valuation are growing, as the chip maker's shares have climbed nearly 230% in the past year. Nvidia shares fell 2.85% on Wednesday.

“Can Nvidia capture a market that needs a significant catalyst?” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. Ms. Krosby noted that interest rate cut expectations have recently declined, leaving the stock without a clear catalyst, making the earnings report and outlook the next best catalyst for the stock. continue to grow.

Additionally, Palo Alto Networks shares dropped 28.4% as the cybersecurity company lowered its full-year revenue outlook. SolarEdge Technologies shares lost 12.2% due to a weak first-quarter outlook.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) January meeting released on February 21 - coming after hotter-than-expected economic data last week - showed that the central bank is in no rush to lower interest rates. capacity. Fed officials decided to leave interest rates unchanged, and also indicated that no rate cuts will occur until the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has “greater confidence” that Inflation is cooling down.