S&P Registers Fourth Straight Decline
13-Aug-18 16:25 ET
Dow -125.44 at 25187.70, Nasdaq -19.40 at 7819.72, S&P -11.35 at 2821.67
briefing.com
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 notched its fourth straight loss on Monday, sliding 0.4%, as the Turkish lira extended Friday's tumble, causing further concerns over the financial health of lenders with heavy exposure to the economically-struggling country. The Nasdaq slipped 0.3%, and the Dow declined 0.5%.
Turkey's central bank tried to shore up the country's financial system, but it did little to stop the lira's free fall. After dropping nearly 16.0% against the dollar on Friday, the lira fell another 8.7% on Monday, hitting a new all-time low and extending its five-month decline to roughly 80%. India's rupee, another emerging market currency, also hit a new all-time low against the dollar, losing 1.3%.
On Wall Street, most S&P sectors finished in negative territory. Financials, energy, and materials were the worst-performing sectors, losing between 1.0% and 1.2% apiece. However, no other group declined more than 0.5%. Health care (unch) and utilities (+0.1%) were the only groups to finish in the green.
The top-weighted technology sector got off to a solid start, adding as much as 0.9%, but weakened as the day wore on, eventually settling lower by 0.2%. Still, the group's relatively upbeat performance helped keep the S&P 500's loss in check. Within the group, tech giant Apple (AAPL 208.87, +1.34) was a top performer, adding 0.7%.
In corporate news, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA 356.41, +0.92, +0.3%), Elon Musk, attempted to clarify last week's tweet about taking Tesla private, saying that his claim that funding has been secured is based on repeated conversations with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. Meanwhile, President Trump encouraged boycotting Harley-Davidson (HOG 41.38, -1.87, -4.3%) if it moves its manufacturing overseas.
Elsewhere, U.S. Treasuries sold off, sending the benchmark 10-yr yield two basis points higher to 2.88%; West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost as much as 2.8% in intraday trading before closing lower by 0.5% at $67.28/bbl; and the CBOE Volatility Index spiked 13.4% to 14.92, hitting its highest level in more than five weeks.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday.
- Nasdaq Composite +13.3% YTD
- Russell 2000 +9.1% YTD
- S&P 500 +5.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.9% YTD
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