FYI: U.S. stocks tumbled Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index teetering on the edge of a bear market, as the Federal Reserve’s latest guidance on interest rates spooked investors in growth-sensitive assets like technology shares.
Highflying stocks like Netflix, Amazon.com and Apple that have benefited from years of easy money and low rates came under fresh pressure, all declining about 2%.
Easy monetary policies and massive bond-buying from the world’s biggest central banks have been credited with fueling the yearslong rally in global stocks and dampening volatility. This year has been different, however. Stocks have tumbled around the world, fueled by trade tensions between the U.S. and China and a slowdown in growth. Technology stocks, in particular, have been battered in the fourth quarter on signs on slowing revenue growth.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.6% to 6528, off nearly 20% from its Aug. 29 high. The index would be the first of the major three U.S. stock benchmarks to end a bull-market run that kicked off in wake of the financial crisis in March 2009, if it closes at or below 6487.75.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 464 points, or 1.9%, after earlier falling as much as 679 points, while the S&P 500 fell 1.5%. The indexes are trading at their lowest levels since fall 2017.
Ten of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 slumped Thursday, led by losses in technology, consumer-discretionary and energy shares, which shed more than 1%. The defensive-oriented utilities sector rose 0.3%.
Regards,
Ted
WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-leads-markets-lower-after-fed-raises-rates-11545284493Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-20/your-evening-briefingBloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/asia-stocks-set-to-slide-as-fed-rattles-wall-st-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-under-pressure-as-fed-related-selloff-set-to-continue-2018-12-20/printIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-market-news-dow-jones-falls-walgreens-apple-stock/Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-drops-as-fed-weak-earnings-fan-growth-worries-idUSKCN1OJ1KQCNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/us-futures-following-wednesdays-sell-off.htmlU.K.:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-pare-losses-oil-stocks-lag-2018-12-20/printEurope:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-sink-a-day-after-fed-decision-2018-12-20/printAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-leads-asian-market-tumble-after-fed-raises-rates-2018-12-19/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/bond-markets-yields-under-pressure-as-fed-hikes-rates.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/forex-markets-dollar-the-fed-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/oil-markets-global-economy-crude-supply-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/20/gold-markets-the-fed-dollar-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx
