By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com — The S&P 500 fell Wednesday under pressure from an intraday reversal in tech after hotter-than-expected inflation data exacerbated fears of more aggressive Federal Reserve .

They fell by 1.2% and slipped 1.2% (or 187 points), respectively.

According to the Labor Department, Wednesday’s 0.6% increase in unemployment was reported. This is higher than expected 0.4% growth. The annual growth rate in April was 8.3%. This is down from 8.5%.

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 nearly 4%. 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. Russia’s interference is a reason why Ukraine has stopped gas flow to Europe through a key transit point. It was located in the Donbass area.

Occidental Petroleum’s (NYSE:) gain more than 2% in the wake of better-than expected quarterly results. This was due to rising oil prices, which boosted growth.

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ): In the meantime, revenue reported by the company fell below its expectations because of lower market volatility and high cryptocurrencies. The shares of the company fell by more than 26%.

Wall Street continues to believe that Coinbase has a long-term investor case, even though it is experiencing slower growth in its next quarters.

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) provided a softer growth outlook for the future and fell below Wall Street expectations, sending shares plummeting more than 25%

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

Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:) announced quarterly results that outperformed both its top and bottom line, pushing shares up by over 4%. Roblox (NYSE 🙂 reported softer first-quarter results and a 5% increase in shares.