The prospect of a rapid rise in interest rates has hit technology stocks particularly hard. Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, are down more than 10 percent for the month, while the technology Nasdaq composite, which fell 2.5 percent on Friday, is down more than 9 percent. The index fell 18 percent for the year.
Investors also had to contend with supply chain constraints that hamper sales and lead to higher prices. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February meant that the already fragile global supply chain faced a new challenge as Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia, including a ban on oil imports from the country, a move that sparked a spike in oil prices. energy.
And in China, the world’s second-largest economy, Shanghai and more than a dozen other cities closed in late March to fight the jump in the case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. Factories and other jobs also had to be closed.
And on Friday, a series of disappointing earnings forecasts added to the downturn.
HCA Healthcare fell 21.8 percent, making it the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 after the company lowered its earnings forecast, citing higher labor costs.
“The challenging labor market has pushed margins as the price of labor has risen more than we expected compared to the first quarter of last year,” said Samuel Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare, during an interview with investors. “In some situations, labor market challenges have also limited our capacity by preventing us from providing hospital services to certain patients.”
Verizon fell 5.8 percent after the company said it lost 36,000 phone subscribers in the first three months of the year. Gap also fell 18 percent after the company cut its 2022 sales prospects.
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