By
Steve Muchoki
April 16th, 2024
The downtrend in the Nasdaq Composite was sparked by the plunge in tech stocks like Tesla and Microsoft.
The stock market has closed in losses for the second consecutive week as investors chose to stay on the sidelines while watching the Russian-Ukrainian brawl unfold. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 168.65 points atop 1.23% to 13,548.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) shed 232.85 after it lost 0.68% to 34,079.18, and the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) dropped 31.39 points to 4,348.87. The losses were comprehensive as it suppressed the Russell 2000 Index (INDEXRUSSELL: RUT) which also shed as much as 0.92% to 2,009.33.
The Russian-Ukrainian tension also weighed on the oil markets as Natural Gas and Heating oil both plunged 1.23% and 0.17% respectively. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 0.75% and is selling for $91.07 while Brent Crude surprisingly recorded a slight gain as it jumped 0.61% to $93.54.
This offset is warranted as the Wall Street Journal broke a report on Friday that Russia is likely to attack Ukraine in a few days. NBC News also reported that President Joe Biden is expected to commandeer more troops towards Ukraine in the coming days. All these reports have largely kept investors on edge, stirring the selloffs.
“Investors are having a hard time holding onto risk as the likelihood that the standoff between the West and Russia will ultimately lead to some ground conflict,” Oanda’s Edward Moya said in a note Friday. “Wall Street will remain jittery until we see a major de-escalation.”
The selloffs on Friday were particularly more exerting as trillions of dollars in options and futures on stocks, indexes and ETFs expired. With yesterday being the designated time for options to expire as the third Friday of the month, the regional conflict around the Ukrainian borders lent the volatility that stirred the downtrend.
Nasdaq Composite Lost Points amid Tech Shares Dump
The downtrend in the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) was sparked by the plunge in tech stocks like Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) which dropped 2.21% to $856.98 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) fell 0.96% to $287.93.
Inflation has been tagged as another factor that is bound to stir more offset in the stock market, and the St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard called for a more aggressive intervention to prevent inflation from getting worse.
“Whether it’s geopolitics, whether it’s the labor market, whether it’s supply disruptions — no matter what you look at, everything is pointing to inflation being front and center,” Rich Bernstein, Richard Bernstein Advisors CEO, told “Closing Bell” on Friday.