Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Stay informed about free updates
Just register to go US Dollars myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
U.S. stocks fell for a second straight trade as investors eyed strong gains for stock markets in 2024.
The broader S&P 500 was down 1.1 percent in Monday morning trading in New York, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2 percent. Stocks were also lower on Friday, as investors sold shares in major technology stocks that have produced the biggest gains through 2024.
Monday’s sell-off was broad, with all but 20 of the more than 500 stocks tracked by the S&P 500 falling, according to FactSet data. Boeing’s airline group was one of the biggest laggards, down two percent after the crash of a 737-800 in South Korea at the weekend. US Airlines also fell, with United Airlines sliding to nearly the same limit.
Major technology companies, including chipmaker Broadcom, business software group Oracle and PC maker Dell, as well as Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla, also fell as investors continue to move away from the annual multi-billionaires.
The S&P 500 is still up 24 percent in 2024 despite Monday’s pullback, while the Nasdaq is up 30 percent.
Thomas Lee, of research house Fundstrat, said the sell-off was due to “profit-taking” as investors returned portfolios at the end of a strong year for equality. He noted that the Federal Reserve had also disappointed investors this month when it predicted a two-quarter rate cut next year – half of its September estimate.
Torsten Sløk, Apollo’s chief economist, agreed with Lee’s opinion, saying that the profit margin will remain longer than expected, it was weighing heavily on technology groups, which made this year’s gains on Wall Street.
The so-called Magnificent Seven stock market behemoths – Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia and Tesla – have driven nearly half of this year’s gains in the S&P 500, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. All but Nvidia fell on Monday.
US investors bought government debt on Monday, sending yields on the 10-year Treasury note down 0.07 percent to 4.55 percent. Fixed income yields move inversely with prices.
More than $26bn came out of mutual funds last week, including the largest outflow in nearly two years from advanced market funds, according to data provider EPFR. The withdrawal of investors from cryptocurrency funds has reached a record high as technology funds mark the longest streak of exits since the beginning of 2023.
Investors also invested about $2.1bn in bond funds and parked about $29bn in low-risk money market funds, EPFR data showed.
Trading numbers are usually light during the last two weeks of the year when many people leave and leave Wall Street for the holidays. The New York Stock Exchange will be open on New Year’s Eve while bond markets will have a shortened trading day, and both will be closed on New Year’s Day.
