(Reuters) – Technology and growth stocks pushed Wall Street’s main indexes lower on Friday, ending an upbeat holiday-shortened week driven by expectations of a traditionally strong period for markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.82%, the S&P 500 fell 1.24%, and the Nasdaq Composite briefly fell more than 2% and was down 1.80%.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors, including information technology and consumer discretionary, fell the most, down about 2% and 1.9%, after consolidating most of the broader market’s gains in 2024.
comments:
Steve Sosnick, Chief Market Strategist, Interactive Brokers, Greenwich, Connecticut
“I’ve heard tales that pension funds are rebalancing before the end of the year, selling stocks and buying bonds. Unfortunately, I can’t verify that, but it might explain the sudden sell-off in the absence of news. And of course, if the big funds sell stocks en masse, Large technology stocks will bear the brunt due to their heavy weight in major indices.
“If nothing else, today is a reminder that just because a Santa Claus spike is a statistical possibility, it is far from guaranteed.”
“We have seen an attempt to buy higher on dips, which seems to confirm that this is some selling or rebalancing underway by a large investor.”
Jay Woods, Chief Global Strategist, Freedom Capital Markets, New York
“What people are doing is they’re raising some money. They’re getting some profits now as we get into the end of the year and they’re preparing for an opportunity if it presents itself at the beginning of next year. Technology, which has made tremendous progress, is starting to decline, and I think this is the beginning of a health correction that’s going to happen.” Focus on it over the next four to eight weeks as you switch departments.
Robert Pavlik, Senior Portfolio Manager, Dakota Wealth, Fairfield, Connecticut
“Any kind of selling pressure gets a little out of control when you have a market that’s thinly traded. And I think the selling pressure is really just people looking for direction.”
“It’s not a lot of institutions. I think a lot of non-professionals are looking to see the direction of the market and going with the flow. There are concerns that the first part of this year may involve some repositioning and reallocation of funds, and those who are trading today and next week will likely “They’re just trying to get ahead of it a little bit.”
“There’s uncertainty about the direction of interest rates and inflation, and the fact that it’s all coming together at once. What is the Fed going to do in the first part of next year?
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