Stock market today: Nasdaq leads stocks lower as Nvidia drops ahead of GTC event

Sarepta Therapeutics stock (SRPT) plunged over 22% in early trading following news that a patient died while taking the company’s gene therapy Elevidys.

In a statement, Sarepta said the patient died of acute liver failure, a known side effect of the treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder. It’s the first death associated with the therapy since the treatment received expedited FDA approval in the US in 2023.

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As markets attempt to recover from recent sell-off action that’s left the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq (^IXIC) in correction territory, one major catalyst this week could make or break a comeback: Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy decision.

The central bank is expected to hold interest rates steady in the face of tariff uncertainties and recent growth concerns.

But the simultaneous release of the Fed’s quarterly forecasts, otherwise known as the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), along with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-decision press conference, will be at the center of investor unpacking.

“Powell post-FOMC will have to reassure markets growth remains healthy and inflation’s trajectory still points to 2% as confidence is wavering amid stagflation worries, or outright recession fears,” Evercore ISI’s Julian Emanuel wrote in a note to clients on Sunday.

A bleak economic scenario in which growth stalls, inflation persists, and unemployment rises, stagflation has become the latest buzzword in financial markets as investors attempt to understand the administration’s shifting trade narrative and other policy unknowns, including recent efforts to cut government jobs from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In a global survey of 171 participants, Bank of America’s latest Global Fund Manager Survey, released Tuesday, showed 71% of surveyed investors expect stagflation, the highest level since November 2023.

“With regards to growth (the ‘stag’ part of stagflation), Powell will need to reconfirm his recently articulated certainty that the ‘hard’ data remains supportive, even as the ‘soft’ data is weak,” Emanuel wrote.

“On the ‘flation’ part of stagflation, Powell must indicate inflation remains on its path to 2%, even amidst potential near-term hurdles.”

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Nvidia stock (NVDA) fell 3% at the market open on Tuesday ahead of the AI giant’s GTC event, with CEO Jensen Huang set to deliver a keynote speech at 1 p.m. ET.

And which way Nvidia shares pull could have an outsized effect on the stock market’s direction, according to a veteran market technician.

“The near-term future of this market, for lack of a better term, is dictated by what’s going on at Nvidia and really in semiconductors and technology writ large, just by virtue of their size and by virtue of their importance,” Evercore technical strategist Rich Ross told Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi on the Opening Bid podcast.

Brian Sozzi adds:

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US stocks dropped across the board on Tuesday, reversing two days of gains as investors looked to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which kicks off Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank 0.8% lower.

Residential construction rose in February as builders broke ground on more projects.

New housing starts rose 11.2% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.501 million units, according to data from the Census Bureau released Tuesday. That beat estimates from economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who expected an annualized 1.385 million pace. Single-family housing starts grew 11.4% at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.108 million.

The data comes as mortgage rates have been trending downward and recently hit a three-month low. However, that hasn’t motivated buyers to take action. Mortgage applications to purchase new homes fell nearly 7% in February compared to a year ago, according to Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) data.

Meanwhile, more builders are growing wary of the housing market, President Trump’s shifting tariff policies, and the ongoing challenge of high housing costs.

Last week, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products, without exemptions a move that could push housing costs even higher.

“Data from the HMI March survey reveals that builders estimate a typical cost effect from recent tariff actions at $9,200 per home. Uncertainty on policy is also having a negative impact on home buyers and development decisions,” NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said on Monday.

Investors’ uber-bullish sentiment for US stocks came to a screeching halt over the past month.

In a global survey of 171 participants, Bank of America’s latest Global Fund Manager Survey showed the biggest drop in investor allocation to US equities on record.

A team of Bank of America strategists led by Michael Hartnett described the move in the March survey as a “bull crash” with investor appetite for US stocks tumbling amid the 10% drawdown in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) over the past month.

The swift nature of the correction in the S&P 500, could be seen as a buy sign. But as Hartnett’s team points out, the recent market moves are more a flushing out of uber-bullishness rather than an obvious catalyst for a contrarian trade.

Hartnett wrote the current sentiment levels are nowhere near “close-your-eyes-and-buy levels.”

And as Wall Street strategists have pointed out recently, part of the reason it might not be an obvious buy-the-dip moment has to do with what sent stocks lower in the first place.

A chart in BofA’s survey shows that 55% believe the biggest risk to markets is “trade war triggers global recession.” This marked the highest conviction in a risk since the pandemic topped the list in April 2020.

But despite a roughly 3% pop in stocks over the past two sessions, not much has changed in the trade war or growth scare story over the past week.

Morgan Stanley chief investment officer Mike Wilson told clients on Sunday that “a tradable rally” is possible in markets. But Wilson doesn’t see a sustainable rally to new record highs “until the numerous growth headwinds are reversed” or the Fed resumes interest rate cuts.

The Financial Times reported that Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) has agreed to buy cybersecurity startup Wiz for $32 billion, with more details expected to come later today, according to people familiar with the matter.

If the offer holds, the price tag would make the potential buyout Google’s largest acquisition yet, per Reuters.

Google and the Israel-based security startup previously were in talks for a deal, but Wiz called them off in 2024 due to antitrust hurdles. The revival of the deal coincides with a booming cybersecurity market as a CrowdStrike outage last year heightened concerns over locking down digital infrastructure.

Wiz makes artificial intelligence-powered security software that helps companies identify and remove risks on the cloud.

Silver futures (SI=F) continued to stack up gains on Tuesday, on track to rise over 19% in a year as the market comes under pressure from Trump’s tariffs.

While supplies of the metal are still flowing into New York, traders are concerned they could dry up. About 70% of US imports of silver come from Mexico and Canada, the biggest targets of the US trade offensive.

Bloomberg reports:

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XPeng stock (XPEV) fell more than 1% premarket despite the Chinese electric vehicle maker forecasting better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter. XPeng expects to deliver between 91,000 and 93,000 vehicles in the first quarter by enticing buyers with lower-priced G6 and G9 SUV models and expanding in Europe.

In other EV news, Xiaomi’s (XIACY, XIACF) Q4 revenue jumped and the EV maker raised its outlook for deliveries in 2025 to 350,000. BYD (BYDDY) stock also got a boost Monday on news of the company’s improved battery charging system, which the automaker said is capable of providing around 249 miles of range in five minutes.

Tesla (TSLA) stock continued its slide premarket, falling 3%, as the US automaker battles heated competition in China and investor concerns over Elon Musk’s role in government.

Crude oil futures were rallying for a third day in a row on Tuesday after Israeli military strikes on Gaza heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Brent futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, rose 1.1% to top $71 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) put on 1.3% to trade above $68.

The overnight airstrikes by Israel put paid to a nearly two-month ceasefire with Hamas. They also added to Middle East risks already in play after US assaults on an Iran-backed Houthi group behind attacks in the Red Sea.

The hit to global crude supply as the US clamps down on Iran “could range in the order of 1 million barrels a day, offsetting gains from OPEC as it phases out voluntary production cuts,” ANZ Group Holdings analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes said, according to Bloomberg.

While oil is trading near its highest levels in March, prices are still headed for a quarterly loss as concerns about the impact of US tariffs on global economic growth and demand.

Gold (GC=F) continues to hover around the $3000 all-time high. Haven demand continues to be pushed worldwide as market volatility rattles investors.

Bloomberg reports:

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