Stocks sank on Monday as traders awaited new economic and earnings data this week to confirm or assuage concerns over supply chain challenges, inflation and the pace of the labor market's recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 323.54 points or 0.94% to 34,002.92, despite large gains in Merck. The S&P 500 shed 1.3% to 4,300.46. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, dipping 2.1% to 14,255.48,as Treasury yields climbed. The benchmark 10-year yield hovered just below 1.5%, its highest point since June, with investors concerned about inflationary pressures and tighter monetary policy. with the rise in rates sparking a drop in Big Tech and growth names.
Large tech shares likeApple,Nvidia,AmazonandMicrosoftwere lower as investors eyed bond yields. A surge in rates to end September knocked highly valued tech stocks. The10-year Treasury yieldwas slightly higher Monday, trading around 1.48%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 1.56% last week, its highest point since June, with investors concerned about inflationary pressures and tighter monetary policy.
Social media giantFacebooklost 4.9% after being accused of a “betrayal of democracy” by a whistleblower whorevealed her identity on Sunday.
Stocks are struggling to regain footing after a September selloff, given that many of the concerns that sparked last month's drop have persisted. In Congress, lawmakers have yet to come to an agreement on a solution to raise the debt limit and avert a potential government default, or an outcome that could come as soon mid-month and engender "a financial crisis and economic recession," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week.
Jitters over ongoing supply chain disruptions and fast-rising inflation have also been in focus, especially after Friday's U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) report reflected the fastest annual rise in inflation since 1991. And later this week, traders will receive the Labor Department's monthly jobs report for September, which is expected to show an at least modest acceleration in job growth after a much weaker-than-expected August report. But after a strong string of economic data earlier this year, many pundits are bracing for decelerating growth and potential data disappointments into year-end.
"We are going to have to sort of tiptoe our way through some of the negative numbers that we will likely see, but I think the market will look across this valley," Sam Stovall, U.S. equity strategist for CFRA Research, told Yahoo Finance Live on Friday.
And though only a handful of companies are reporting quarterly earnings results this week, the prints will help set the tone ahead of the formal start of third-quarter earnings season with the big banks next week.
As of Friday, consensus analysts on Wall Street projected earnings growth of just over 27% for the S&P 500 for the third quarter, according to FactSet. That would represent a marked slowdown from the second quarter's 88% pace, but still come in as the third highest year-over-year growth rate since 2010 for the index.
"As equity valuations come under scrutiny amid the rapid rise in real rates, investor focus will increasingly assess whether earnings growth can continue to lead the market higher," Goldman Sachs equity strategist David Kostin wrote in a note. He said the four key areas investors should be watching in the reports and management commentary this earnings season are on supply chains, oil, labor costs and growth in China.
"We expect upside to consensus estimates but believe the frequency and magnitude of EPS [earnings per share] beats will moderate from 1H 2021," Kostin added.
On the positive side,Teslarose 0.8% after the company saidthis weekend that it delivered 241,300 electric vehicles during the third quarter, well above analysts estimates.
Merckshares gained 2.1%, following through on an 8% surge on Friday after the drug maker said its oral antiviral treatment developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics for Covid-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by 50% for patients with mild or moderate cases.
Southwest rose 1.3% after an upgrade to overweight from equal weight from Barclays. The same analystupgraded the North American Airlines sectorto positive from neutral.
Energy stocks also rose amid an uptick in oil prices.Exxon Mobilgained 1.3% andConocoPhillipsrallied 2%.
“At these extremely lofty valuations stock prices are very sensitive to modest changes in incremental capital flows and it appears that there is some ‘performance chasing’ going on as the energy space is attracting capital which is trying to make it look like they had exposure to oil & gas (window dressing) and that means less money flowing into tech,” said Mark Yusko, Morgan Creek Capital Management CEO and chief investment officer.
Friday marked the first trading day of October and the final quarter of 2021. The major averages rose that day on promising data for Merck’s oral treatment for Covid-19, which boosted stocks tied to the economic reopening.
The market rebound followed a rough September plagued by fears of inflation, Federal Reserve tapering and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 finished the month down 4.8%, breaking a seven-month winning streak. The Dow and the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively, suffering their worst months of the year.
The fourth quarter is typically a good period for stocks, but overhangs like central bank tightening, the debt ceiling, Chinese developer Evergrande and Covid-19 could keep investors cautious. Heading into the fourth quarter, more than half of all S&P stocks are off at least 10%.
The S&P 500 has averaged gains of 3.9% in the fourth quarter and was up four out of every five years since World War II, according to CFRA.
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