Dow plummets 415 points as tech stocks get hit anew by inflation fears

• US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as investor worries over overheating inflation persisted.
• Tech stocks and cryptocurrencies were hit especially hard, with bitcoin dropping to as low as $30,017.
• The Fed's minutes out later today could provide clues into how central bank officials define "transitory" inflation.

US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as tech names led losses amid mounting concerns around overheating inflation and global coronavirus cases.

It was also a rough morning for cryptocurrency investors. Bitcoin fell as much as 31%, to $30,016.83. Binance Coin fell 38% to $322.03, dogecoin fell 43% to 28 cents, and Ethereum's ether fell 39% to $2,094.

Later today the Fed publishes minutes from its April Meeting. It could provide clues to officials' views on the economic recovery and further details on how they define "transitory" inflation.

"Growth remains robust and there has been no material change to the bullish narrative," said Craig Johnson, Piper Sandler's chief market technician. "We suspect economic uncertainty and volatility could remain high over the coming months and temporary pull the bulls' foot off the gas as they wait for validation of the Fed's transitory inflation forecast."

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,071.73, down 1.4%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 33,645.34, down 1.2% (415 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,115.17, down 1.4%

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JPMorgan said in a Tuesday note institutional investors seem to be shifting away from bitcoin, and moving back into traditional gold, a reversal of the trend seen over the past six months.

"It is not clear what is driving this shift," strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. "Perhaps institutional investors are fleeing bitcoin as they see its previous two quarter uptrend ending and thus seek the stability of traditional gold away from the rapid downshifting of digital gold."

Recent high-profile cyber attacks in which hackers demanded to be paid incryptocurrencies have also added to bitcoin's woes.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 3.1%, to $63.44 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, slid 2.9%, to $66.73 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Gold climbed as much as 0.9%, to $1,886.24 per ounce.