The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, led once again by a sell-off in technology companies, with
The sell-off wiped out the last of the solid gains the market saw to start the week. The S&P 500 is on track for its first monthly loss since March. September is historically the worst month for stocks.
“The market has been poised to just pull back, take a breather," said
The S&P 500 fell 37.54 points to 3,319.47. The decline marks the the first 3-week losing streak for the benchmark index since last October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 244.56 points, or 0.9%, to 27,657.42. The Nasdaq composite shed an early gain, losing 116.99 points, or 1.1%, to 10,793.28. Smaller stocks also fell, with the Russell 2000 index of small caps giving up 5.82 points, or 0.4%, to 1,536.78.
Momentum in the market shifted Wednesday after the
Growth in some areas of the economy has also slowed after supplemental unemployment benefits and other aid from the federal government expired, and partisan disagreements in
“To the extent that you don’t get an additional fiscal cushion, the economy is going to be impacted by it,” said
Rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies are also continuing to keep markets on edge.
President Donald Trump’s targeting of the Chinese tech industry has caused intermittent worries in the market about a possible retaliation against the
Big Tech stocks have stumbled sharply this month on worries that their prices have grown too expensive following their virtuosic performance through the pandemic. Surging shares of
But they suddenly lost momentum two weeks ago, causing the market to swing with them. Because these companies have grown so massive, their stock movements have huge sway over broad market indexes, such as the S&P 500.
“We certainly got a little short-term overbought and we headed into a time of the year that is not great for markets,” Levitt said.
On Friday, several Big Tech stocks continued slipping.
Also on the long list of concerns for markets is how the pandemic progresses, whether a vaccine for COVID-19 could indeed be available in early 2021 as many investors expect and what November’s
A preliminary report on Friday said that consumer sentiment is improving at a faster pace than economists expected, which is key for an economy where spending by consumers is the main driver. But it follows other reports this week that showed growth in retail sales slowed last month and the number of layoffs across the country remains stubbornly high.
One factor that may have helped make trading bumpier than usual Friday is an event known as “quadruple witching,” which marks the expiration of futures and options on stocks and indexes. The event can drive swings in prices.
Other stock markets around the world made mostly modest moves.
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Benchmark
AP Business Writer
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