Dow Breaches 50K as Wall Street Succumbs to Tech Pressure

Stocks have pared solid opens and are sharply lower midday, as investors continued to rotate out of tech. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is 520 points lower at last look, going from a record high earlier in the week to now sitting back below 50,000. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) were also near record levels but have since pivoted into the red, with both indexes heading for a third-straight loss.

Investor focus lies on more cyclical areas of Wall Street today, while “Magnificent Seven” stocks -- such as Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) -- face pressure. As a result, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is back above 20 for the first time since Feb. 5.

• Fastly stock is trading at its highest level in over two years.
• QuantumScape forecast stirs up analyst attention.
• Plus, CSCO bears take over; CGNX's best day ever; and ASTS's lingering debt

Put traders are piling on Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO). So far, over 78,000 puts have changed hands, eight times the average intraday amount. The most popular contract is the weekly 3/13 71-strike put, followed by the weekly 2/13 78-strike put, with new positions being bought to open at both.

AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ:ASTS) is one of worst names on the Nasdaq today, as the satellite company priced $1 billion in debt to convert into shares. Shares are well below its Jan 30 record high of $129.89, though support could kick in at its 140-day moving average, which has kept previous losses in check. Plus, shares are still boasting a 200% year-over-year gain.