By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com — The Dow plunged to fresh lows for the year Wednesday as an ugly reversal in tech fueled a broader selloff after data showing inflation remains near 40-year highs stoked fears of more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.

The dropped 1.1% (342 points), the fell 1.7% (1.7%), and the plummeted 2.3% (2.3%).

According to the Labor Department, Wednesday’s slowdown in April was 0.3% compared to 1.2%. This is more than expected given that forecasts were for 0.2% growth. In April, the year-on-year growth rate was 8.3%, down from 8.5% in March.

Many economists had predicted that inflation would soon reach a peak before the release of this report. However, the Federal Reserve’s latest data is expected to convince them to be more hawkish about monetary policy.

“Powell said last week that the Fed wasn’t seriously considering a 75bp increase at the next two meetings. After today’s CPI report, it may warrant some consideration,” Jefferies said in a note.

“The Fed is walking this fine line between pushing the economy into recession, and pushing down inflation,” Melissa Brown, managing director of applied research at Qontigo, an index and analytics provider, said in an interview with Investing.com on Wednesday. I think this line is getting finer.

Big tech lost their gains against the background of increasing bets for a more aggressive Fed. They recommenced their selling spree.

Apple (NASDAQ: ) plunged 5%. The tech giant lost its position as the company with the highest market value. Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:). 

However, rising energy stocks attempted to stop the downside momentum in broader markets, supported by gains in Occidental as well as a rise in oil prices due to fresh supply concerns. The Donbass region of Ukraine was the major transit point for gas flowing to Europe. It blames Russian interference.

Occidental Petroleum’s (NYSE:) gain more than 1% in the wake of better-than expected quarterly results. This was due to rising oil prices, which boosted growth.

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:) reported revenues that were below expectations due to lower market volatility and the downturn in cryptocurrency, including bitcoin. The company’s shares dropped more than 26%.

Wall Street still believes that Coinbase’s long-term investment case is sound, even though the platform has seen slower growth over the next quarter.

Oppenheimer cut its price target on the stock to $197 from $314, but pointed to positive fundamentals including ongoing crypto adoption and the company’s strong balance sheet that ensure the long-term investment case on Coinbase remains intact.

Unity Software (NYSE 🙂 presented a softer growth outlook and it fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. This sent its shares plunging 37%

However, there were some good points on the earnings side.  

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ: ) revealed quarterly top- and bottom-line beats, sending the shares of its stock up more than 33%. Roblox (NYSE 🙂 reported softer first-quarter results that rose more than 3%.