Daily summary: Global stocks plunge as Yellen spook investors

• Stocks plunged rapidly on Tuesday
• Yellen suggests a rate hike
• Gold prices fell sharply as bond yields increase

Tuesday's session saw a sharp sell-off in the global equity markets that started in the afternoon. Initially, it was difficult to pinpoint a specific reason that would directly account for the declines - on the one hand, some investors pointed to the old saying "Sell in May and go away" or the issues regarding quarterly results of some American companies and their ability to sustain growth in the future. However later in the session Janet Yellen said that at some point a rate hike might be needed to prevent the economy from overheating - the words definitely had a negative impact on market sentiment.

Commentary on tightening the economy contributed to an increase in US bond yields and a lower gold price which dropped to $1,770/oz. US tech companies are the worst performing stock and the Nasdaq100 is currently losing around 2.5%. The S&P 500 is discounted by more than 1%. The Old Continent indices ended the day significantly lower - the German blue chip index fell by as much as 2.49%.

The euro is slightly weakening against the dollar and the main currency pair is again approaching 1.2000 level. Tomorrow morning investors will focus on PMI publications for services from European countries. In the morning the PPI inflation  reading from the euro zone for March will also be published. In the afternoon, the key US ADP report and ISM index for services will be presented.

Similar to technology stocks, Russell 2000 (US2000) came under pressure during today's market sell-off. However, declines were stopped around 2,225 pts (the  61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the upward wave initiated on April 20). This level now acts as an important support. The nearest resistance is located around 2 260 pts (a 38.2% retracement). It is also worth noting the downtrend line (blue line) also has the potential to limit the upward movement. Source: xStation5