Stocks moved lower on Monday ahead of the last few trading sessions of 2024.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 464 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.4%.
There was no apparent news catalyst for Monday’s decline and trading was expected to be light given the shortened week.
The major averages are heading into the yearend shy of record levels, with the S&P 500 and Dow up more than 25% and 14%, respectively, and on track for the best year since 2021. The Nasdaq has gained more than 31% in 2024.
The benchmarks are also headed for a winning fourth quarter, with the Nasdaq on pace for its longest quarterly winning streaking since 2021.
However, some worries have mounted that the market may be losing momentum, with what appears to be year-end profit taking after the major averages notched losing sessions Friday. Large tech stocks were struggling again in premarket trading on Monday, with shares of Nvidia and Amazon each falling more than 1%.
“This is a bit disappointing, but I think it’s a bit of profit taking and some hesitancy around the Fed. But I think it doesn’t really change that 2025 is shaping up to have a lot of tailwinds,” Fundstrat head of research Tom Lee said Monday on “Squawk Box.”
Trading in the bond market could also be contributing to the pullback in tech stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield traded above 4.6% last week, though it retreated on Monday morning.
Investors are hoping that stocks will find their footing again and trigger what’s known as a Santa Claus Rally. The phenomenon refers to the market rising into the final five trading days of a calendar year and the first two in January. The S&P 500 has returned 1.3% on average during this period since 1950, according to LPL Financial.
However, investors shouldn’t worry too much about late-year weakness, Lee said.
“It is not a liquid environment because we’re in the final two days of the year. ... Strangely, if the last week of December is weak, I actually think it bodes well for a rebound in the first week of January,” Lee said.
The upcoming days are a light period for economic data, with the market closed Wednesday in observance of New Years Day. Chicago PMI and pending homes sales data are due out Monday.
