Midday movers: Tesla stock is down but AI and tech continue the ride

With the dawn of a new quarter, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index has given hope of a rate cut in the near future.

The core PCE price index, which strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in February, below the forecasts and very much in line with the Fed’s expectations. Although Fed Chair Jerome Powell is not in a rush to cut interest rates, the index results released Friday have boosted investor bets on a rate cut by the end of the second quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved down 0.6% to 39,561 on Monday morning. The S&P 500 lost 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dipped 0.14%.

Model Y prices drive Tesla down

Tesla’s stock fell early Monday after the company raised prices by $1,000 for all Model Y cars in the U.S. At the time of writing, Tesla stock was down 2.6% to $171. The EV maker will announce its delivery number tomorrow — on March 29, the company posted on X that it had produced its six millionth car.

AI and tech stocks all up

As usual, tech stocks and AI stocks are driving the market higher. AI stocks, such as Micron Technology and Super Micro Computer, were up 6.4% and 3.7%, respectively, on Monday morning. In a similar vein, computer drive manufacturer Western Digital Corp was up 5%. Among tech stocks, Alphabet Class A and Alphabet Class C are among the best performers, with a 2.4% and 2.3% jump, respectively.

Crypto market in the red

The crypto market, which has been experiencing bullish sentiment for the past few weeks, was down on Monday morning. The flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin dropped 2.4%, trading at $68,000. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, was down 3.4%, hovering around $3,400. Dogecoin, which saw highs in the past week, dipped 4.6% to $0.20.