Tesla Drives Nasdaq Lower Again; Okta Falls Despite Strong Business Growth
The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) found itself in the line of fire again on Thursday afternoon, as the stock market once again gave up early gains to fall in the afternoon. Many market participants blamed the downturn on comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell that failed to provide much confidence in the central bank's ability to navigate a reflationary environment. As of 2:30 p.m. EST today, the Nasdaq was down almost 2.5%, officially undergoing a 10% correction from its all-time highs just last month.
Investors appear to be losing confidence in the high-growth stocks that helped the Nasdaq soar last year, and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) in particular failed to provide much defense from the market rout. Meanwhile, Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) suffered declines despite posting strong growth in its underlying business, showing that traders are focused on short-term trends rather than where companies are headed in the long run.
Tesla was down more than 7% on Thursday afternoon, approaching $600 per share for the first time since December. The once high-flying electric vehicle (EV) pioneer's stock has lost its upward momentum, and some are now starting to look more critically at the prospects for its core auto business.
Source Fool.com