The First Slice for Thursday, January 18, 2024
Wall Street experienced a significant drop in stock prices recently, and here’s what you need to know about it. The S&P 500, a key indicator of the stock market’s health, reached its lowest point in over a week, while the Dow Jones also dipped to a near one-month low. This downturn was largely attributed to the performance of mega-cap stocks like Amazon, Nvidia, and Alphabet, which all saw declines of over 1%. Additionally, Tesla’s stock dropped by 3.4% after the company reduced the prices of its Model Y cars in Germany.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 13.44 points or less than 0.1%.
- The S&P 500 was down 0.91%.
- The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.48%.
One of the key factors influencing this market movement was the rise in the 10-year Treasury yield, which climbed to over 4.1%—its highest point in the year. Furthermore, data revealed that increased retail sales, driven by discounts from retailers and higher motor-vehicle purchases, exceeded expectations, suggesting that the U.S. economy remains solid for 2024. This led to a change in expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s plans for interest rate cuts, with a reduced likelihood of a rate cut happening as early as March.
Investors are now grappling with the uncertainty of the economic landscape, and some are adjusting their positions accordingly. The market’s fear gauge, the CBOE Market Volatility Index, hit its highest level in over two months. This recent drop in stocks has caused the S&P 500 to be down about 1% from its record high in January 2022……….[read more]
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