For the first time since March 2021, the S&P 500 closed below 4,000 points. The index lost 132.1 points or 3.20% Monday, falling to 3,991.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 653.67 points, or 1.99%, to 32,245.7. And in the largest drop, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 521.41 points, or 4.29%, to 11,623.25.
The energy sector sector also fell 8.3%, as oil prices dropped. Bitcoin dropped to as low as $32,763.16 Monday, its lowest level since July 2021.
Technology and growth stocks, whose valuations rely more heavily on future cash flows, have been hit hardest. Apple ended up being the biggest weight on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, falling 3.3%. Twitter shares fell more than 3%, but that likely had more to do with Hindenburg Research saying the company’s $44 billon deal to sell itself to Elon Musk has a significant risk of getting repriced at a lower figure.
“Well, everything is falling in the market right now. And a lot of investors out there, frankly, are scared because you had not only the Fed raising rates by 50-basis points, you had other Fed governors suggesting that a 75-basis point raise is still on the table in future meetings,” Portfolio manager Robert Cantwell said Monday. “We’re now coming up on the end of earnings season and just about every single company disappointed in their numbers. And there are very few places where you’re seeing positive improvements in fundamentals right now for companies.”
The S&P 500 is coming off its fifth weekly loss in a row as renewed worries about China’s economy piled on top of the rising interest rates. Investors are now bracing for a bear market, which would mark the end of the pandemic-era rally that sent stocks to record levels.
“This is the market saying, ‘We have to go into a recession to get inflation under control,’ because that’s the level of stimulus, overstimulation that we’re fighting right now to get corrected in the economy,” Cantwell said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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