US open: Major indices fall as cryptocurrency slump weighs on tech stocks

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the red early on Wednesday as tech stocks slumped amid falling cryptocurrency values.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.58% at 33,521.40, while the S&P 500 was 1.54% weaker at 4,064.22 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.40% softer at 13,116.78.

The Dow opened 539.26 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as growth stocks continued to come under pressure as a result of inflationary fears.

On Wednesday, tech stocks were again under the cosh as a result of a sharp drop in cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin falling more than 30% in a single day to $30,000 as a result of China warning financial institutions not to conduct crypto-related business.

Tesla, which holds a significant amount of bitcoin, dropped 4% in early trading, while Microstrategy tanked 10% on the back of its decision to buy up a large amount of bitcoin for its corporate treasury and newly public crypto exchange Coinbase slipped more than 9%.

Separate from the bitcoin-related movements, other big-name tech stocks also struggled at the open, with Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Nvidia all moving around lower at the start of trading.

On the macro front, mortgage applications increased for a second straight week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, jumping 1.2% week-on-week in the seven days ended 14 May.

Still to come, minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's most recent meeting will be published at 1900 BST.

In terms of earnings, Target shares traded higher after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, with sales surging 23% last quarter, while Lowe's beat on earnings amid robust home improvement spending.

Still to come, L Brands and Cisco Systems were all slated to report quarterly results throughout the course of the day.