Stocks dropped sharply on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its worst day since the coronavirus pandemic was still impacting Wall Street, as widespread concerns over the health of the U.S. economy ignited a broad sell-off. The Dow and S&P 500 Index both registered their biggest one-day loss since September 2022, falling over 1,000 points and 3%, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, lost 3.4%.
Here's how the market settled on Monday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -3.00% or -160.23 points to 5,186.33
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -2.60% or -1,033.99 points to 38,703.27
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -3.43% or -576.08 points to 16,200.08
Moving Markets:
Much of the broader global economic fears seen Monday were sparked last week with Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report following the Federal Reserve maintaining its benchmark interest rate at its highest level in two decades on Wednesday. The job's report also triggered a recession signal known as the "Sahm Rule," as July's unemployment rate rose higher.
Overnight, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average saw its worst day since Wall Street's "Black Monday" in 1987 as the nation's market confirmed it had entered a bear market. The average lost 4,451.28 points in its largest one-day loss in its entire history.
Market darlings like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) each fell on Monday, pulling down other semiconductor stocks like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) and Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM) This also sparked a widespread sell off of assets like Bitcoin, impacting crypto stocks including Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), MicroStrategy and Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN).
Also impacting Wall Street on Monday was increasing geopolitical tensions in both the Middle East and Ukraine over the weekend, coupled with the rapidly changing U.S. political landscape ahead of the nation's presidential election in November, with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris tying and sometimes surpassing Republican nominee former President Donald Trump in multiple polls.
Elsewhere, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares, which is the top stock by weigh on the S&P 500, declined on Monday on news that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) cut nearly half its stake in the tech giant following its 13% sell off in its first-quarter, according to its earnings filing. The conglomerate's Apple stake is now valued at $84.2 billion, and remains its largest holding despite the sale.
In Economic News:
U.S. Services expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index reading released Monday, offering a bright spot for the U.S. economy amid the broader market turmoil. The index registered a reading of 51.4% for the month, representing the share of purchase managers reporting expansion. The reading came in ahead of estimates and June's print of 48.8%.
"Ten industries reported growth in July. The Services PMI has expanded in 17 of the last 19 months dating back to January 2023, and the July reading is only 0.9 percentage point lower than the average of 52.3 percent over that period of time. Also, the PMI has not recorded back-to-back months in contraction since April and May 2020, another indication of sustained growth for the sector," said Steve Miller, chair of the ISM Services Business Survey Committee, in a release.
For Tuesday:
Market participants will react to earnings reports from companies including Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ: FANG), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) and Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) on Tuesday.