U.S. Stocks Showing Another Significant Move To The Downside

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Monday, extending the sell-off seen during last Friday's session. The major averages have all shown significant moves to the downside, pulling back near the one-month lows set earlier this month.

Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 691.02 points or 1.6 percent at 42,301.19, the Nasdaq is down 348.51 points or 1.8 percent at 19,373.52 and the S&P 500 is down 94.14 points or 1.6 percent at 5,876.70.

The extended pullback on Wall Street partly reflects continued weakness among technology stocks, which may be due to profit taking going into the end of the year.

The major averages still remain poised to post substantial gains for 2024, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq is currently up by 29.1 percent for the year.

Networking stocks are turning in some of the tech sector's worst performances, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down by 2.2 percent.

Considerable weakness is also visible among computer hardware and semiconductor stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.1 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.

Outside of the tech sector, airline stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside, resulting in a 2.4 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Gold, retail and telecom stocks are also seeing notable weakness on the day, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

A slump by shares of Boeing (BA) is also weighing on the Dow, as the aerospace giant is tumbling by 3.7 percent after South Korea's Transport Ministry ordered an inspection of B737-800 aircraft after the deadly Jeju Air crash over the weekend.

However, the downward move by the broader markets may be being exaggerated by below average volume, as many traders remain away from their desks ahead of the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales surged by much more than expected in the month of November.

NAR said its pending home sales index shot up by 2.2 percent to 79.0 in November after jumping by 1.8 percent to 77.3 in October. Economists had expected pending home sales to climb by 0.7 percent.

The pending home sales index increased for the fourth consecutive month, reaching its highest level since February 2023.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.0 percent and South Korea's Kopsi dipped by 0.2 percent, although China's Shanghai Composite Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground following the weakness seen last Friday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 7.6 basis points at 4.543 percent.