Nasdaq, S&P 500 Slip Ahead Of Fed Meeting, Regional Banks Sink After NYCB Disappoints: What’s Driving Markets Wednesday?

It’s a volatile day on Wall Street as tech stocks reacted to disappointing quarterly earnings ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

What Happened: In the lead-up to the FOMC meeting — scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 31 — the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.4%. This marked its worst session since early January.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is down 6%, due to disappointing results for the quarter ending in December.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD), a prominent player in the artificial intelligence space, also fell on softer-than-expected results.
• The broader market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, fell 0.9%.
• The pace of job growth slowed from 158,000 in December to 107,000 this month (below the expected 147,000), according to the ADP National Employment Report.
• The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as the market fear gauge or VIX, rallied 8%. Bonds gained ground as investors adopted a more cautious approach. Treasury yields fell across all key maturities, with the 10-year yield falling below the 4% mark.
• The popular iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:

Full story available on Benzinga.com