Stocks Tumble as Post-Election Euphoria Fades: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks fell as Trump trades lost steam and investors bet the Federal Reserve will have to slow the pace of policy easing. 

The S&P 500 dropped for a second day, with tech stocks leading the decline. Including losses on Friday, the benchmark has now ceded more than half of the trough-to-peak gains it notched after the US presidential election.

Bond yields ticked higher as traders now see the probability of a quarter-point cut next month as a coin toss after a report on retail sales included large upside revision to September’s figure.

As the initial euphoria about Trump’s pro-business agenda begins to fade, investors are coming to terms with the costs of his fiscal plans and their potential to reignite inflation. 

“It will come at the expense of potentially larger budget deficits, potentially larger debt and there is also the inflation dimension,” said Charles-Henry Monchau, chief investment officer at Banque Syz & Co. “There’s been a realization that there is a price to pay for this.”

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dropped more than 2%. Yields on 10-year Treasuries jumped to 4.5%, the highest since May 31. 

Traders priced in a 50% chance the Fed will deliver a quarter-point reduction at its December meeting, down from 80% earlier this week. Bets on cuts were pared after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned Thursday that the central bank may take its time easing policy. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said Friday a December cut remained on the table, emphasizing the central bank’s decision will be guided by incoming data.

Meanwhile, drugmakers Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. came under pressure in New York trading after Trump named a prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a top health-policy role. 

The greenback eased off two-year highs but is on track for its seventh straight weekly gain. Another of the so-called Trump trades, Bitcoin, has given up some gains this week, trading below $90,000 on Friday after hitting a record level above $93,000 earlier this week on hopes of crypto-friendly policies from the new US administration. 

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 fell 1.2% as of 11:37 a.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.1%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.8%
• The MSCI World Index fell 1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0547
• The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.2632
• The Japanese yen rose 1.1% to 154.62 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.2% to $89,311.57
• Ether fell 2.7% to $3,035.76

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.46%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.35%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.47%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $68.05 a barrel
• Spot gold was little changed

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Allegra Catelli.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.