By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 retreated from record highs on Friday, as a Snap-induced slump in tech prompted caution just as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attempted to quell concerns about the prospect of earlier rate hikes.

This was just 0.2% below its previous intraday record at 4,559.70. It dropped 0.9%.

Powell stated that “it is time to taper and not raise rates.” This was in the context of rising concerns about the Fed’s ability to increase rates quickly to control inflation.

The Fed chief continued to suggest the pace of inflation remains transitory, though said the central bank would use its tools to “guide inflation back down to 2% over time.”

“At the same time, we think we can be patient and allow the recovery to take place and allow the labor market to heal,” he added.

Tech, which has played a big role in the recent market melt-up, was under pressure after Snap’s warning on slowing revenue growth following Apple’s privacy-related changes to its mobile operating system, iOS.

Apple (NASDAQ: ) earlier announced that the iOS 14 update will allow users to disable apps accessing the IDFA or track advertiser information on their iPhones.

Snap (NYSE 🙂 also pointed out that supply chain headwinds were another reason for 4Q21’s below-consensus guidance.

But both supply issues and events “should ultimately prove transitory as advertisers progressively adopt new tools to more accurately measure events in a post-IDFA world and also as issues such as port congestion and labor shortages revert back to pre-pandemic levels,” Credit Suisse (SIX,) CSGN wrote in a letter.

Facebook (NASDAQ), Twitter (NYSE) and Pinterest (NYSE) all saw a decrease of more than 4%.

In the meantime, financials were driven higher by stronger-than-expected quarterly performance from regional bank stocks. American Express

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ) has raised its outlook for full-year growth in 2021 following its third quarter results which were better than expected on top and bottom, sending its share higher than 5%

“This is the strongest preliminary guide the company has introduced in many years […],” Wedbush said as it raised its price target on the stock to $800.00 from $775.00.

“Highlights include average loan growth in the mid 20s percentage range, net interest income in the mid 30s percentage range (we had previously assumed 24%), core fee income in the mid 20s percentage range…” it added.

American Express (NYSE) rose also 5% following the report that the third quarter earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations and that the card’s revenue was higher than expected. The credit card guided 2022 earnings per shares within its guidance range and guided to a total of 20% growth in the future.

China’s real estate property Evergrande appears to be in a position to avoid default, having reportedly paid a crucial debt payment prior the default deadline.

Other news: Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:) more than doubled adding to its 357% climb Thursday ahead of a widely expected SPAC’s merger with former President Donald Trump’s planned social media platform.