WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, extending the significant pullback seen in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq is down 398.29 points or 1.7 percent at 22,655.70, the S&P 500 is down 69.75 points or 1.0 percent at 6,650.57 and the Dow is down 311.99 points or 0.7 percent at 46,600.31.
The continued weakness on Wall Street comes amid lingering concerns about valuations, as investors have recently expressed worries about an artificial intelligence bubble.
Valuation anxiety triggered a sell-off on Tuesday, with shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) plunging even though the software company reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and raised its revenue guidance.
Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon and Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO Ted Pick also warned of a significant correction by the markets over the next one to two years.
After a rebound on Wednesday, valuation concerns resurfaced on Thursday despite a lack of major catalysts, leading to considerable weakness amid AI players like Nvidia (NVDA) and Oracle (ORCL).
However, investors such as Louis Navellier, founder and chief investment officer at Navellier & Associates, have noted corrections are not out of the ordinary in light of the strength in the markets over the past year.
'Corrections with these levels of gains are normal and to be expected, not something to panic over,' Navellier said in a report to investors.
Navellier also said there's 'still hope for a year-end rally once the government shutdown ends and the tariff situation is resolved,' noting Nvidia's important quarterly earnings report is still nearly two weeks away.
Negative sentiment has also been generated in reaction to a report from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has deteriorated by much more than anticipated in the month of November.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index slid to 50.3 in November after falling to 53.6 in October. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 53.2.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, the consumer sentiment index dropped to its lowest level since hitting a record low of 50.0 in June 2022.
Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu noted consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative economic consequences of the U.S. government shutdown as the stalemate drags on for over a month.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks have moved sharply lower over the course of the session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 3.9 percent.
Substantial weakness sis also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent slump by the NYSE Arca networking Index.
Computer hardware, biotechnology and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while energy stocks have moved higher amid an increase by the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dove by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 1.0 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the strong upward move seen in the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.2 basis points at 4.071 percent.
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