[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. electric vehicle company Tesla's stock price fell by as much as 8.55%. On this day, the Nasdaq index also plunged by 2.46% in the New York stock market, but Tesla's fall was particularly pronounced.
Unlike the Nasdaq's plunge, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher, clearly showing that the early economic recovery and inflation concerns are affecting the U.S. stock market differently.
On the 22nd (local time) in the New York stock market, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed sharply down 2.46% (341.41 points) at 13,533.05. The S&P 500 index also closed down 0.77% (30.21 points) at 3,876.50, but the decline was not as large as that of the Nasdaq.
The traditional stock-focused Dow index closed up 0.09% (27.37 points) at 31,521.69, showing a contrast.
Recently, the Nasdaq has shown weakness compared to the traditional stock-focused Dow index as expectations for economic recovery and concerns about inflation were reflected, but this day showed an even greater contrast.
Apple fell by 2.98%, Microsoft by 2.68%, Alphabet by 1.65%, and Amazon by 2.13%, with key tech stocks all showing weakness.
The plunge of electric vehicle company Tesla was especially noticeable. Tesla showed a decline of over 4% until the afternoon, but the drop deepened before the close, falling by 8.5%. Tesla's stock price had recorded the high 800-dollar range last month but has continued to weaken since then, causing its market capitalization, which had exceeded 1 trillion dollars, to sharply decrease to 750 billion dollars.
Tesla's sharp stock price drop appears to be linked to the decline in Bitcoin prices. Bloomberg News evaluated Tesla's stock plunge together with Bitcoin's intraday correction of as much as 17%. Tesla recently disclosed that it purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin.
CNBC also reported that Tesla's stock price fell the most since September last year, recalling its Bitcoin investment.
Amid inflation concerns, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose intraday to 1.39% but later narrowed its gains to close at 1.37%. The U.S. Treasury yield is approaching the dividend yield of 1.46% for companies included in the S&P 500 index, which is evaluated as dampening risk asset investment sentiment.
Gold prices also rose significantly. Gold prices increased by 1.69% per ounce, and silver prices surged vertically by 3.65%.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, March West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices closed sharply up $2.25 (3.8%) at $61.49 per barrel. Analysts say that the delay in production normalization in the Texas region, which was hit by a cold wave, pushed oil prices higher.
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