Slumping Tech Stocks Drag S&P 500 Down

Investors are betting stimulus will work
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 8, 2021 3:51 PM CST
Slumping Tech Stocks Drag S&P 500 Down
Stone sculptures adorn the New York Stock Exchange.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Wall Street ended mixed as slumps in several Big Tech companies offset gains in many other parts of the market. Because of their huge size, the drops in Apple, Google’s parent company, and other major technology stocks pulled the S&P 500 to a loss of 0.5% Monday even though more stocks rose than fell in the index, the AP reports. Technology companies have been sliding in recent weeks as investors start to doubt whether the huge gains they made during the pandemic months can continue. The S&P 500 fell 20.59 points, to 3,821.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.14 points, or 1%, to 31,802.44. The Nasdaq fell 310.99 points, or 2.4%, to 12,609.16. Apple fell 4.2% and Facebook was down 3.4%

Trading has been choppy in recent weeks as investors fret over a sudden spike in long-term interest rates in the bond market. The S&P 500 is coming off its first weekly gain in three weeks. "Interest rates reflect a real economic recovery and they’re not going back down anytime soon," says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. "Right now, the market is struggling with that." Bond yields were moving higher again, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.59%. Investors have been betting that trillions of dollars in coming government stimulus will help lift the economy out of its coronavirus-induced malaise. There are also investors who are betting that stimulus and an improving economy will result in some inflation down the road.

(More stock market stories.)

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