U.S. equity markets finished the day lower, with the S&P 500 -0.72%, the Dow -0.57%, the Nasdaq -0.87%, and the Russell 2000 -1.49%.
US Stock markets sold off from the start. President-elect Joe Biden introduced the first part of his economic stimulus plan last night. The price tagged was $1.9 trillion, and it checked all of the boxes regarding expectations. However, while this has been a catalyst for the market rally, it was time for a reality check. Even with Democratic control of the Senate, they’ll still need Republican help to pass the measure. That may prove more difficult than desired, dragging out the timeline.
In addition, the large-cap financials kicked off earnings season. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo all reported. While numbers were good, the stocks had run higher in anticipation. Given the long weekend, it was cause for traders to lock in short-term profits and sell.
Within the S&P 500, seven of the 11 sectors finished lower.
The leading sectors were REITs +1.46%, Utilities +0.97%, and Healthcare +0.32%.
The laggards were Energy -4.03%, Financials -1.79%, and Materials -1.46%.
Oil -2.69% dropped on concerns that rising coronavirus restrictions in China and Germany will sap demand for gasoline.
Gold -1.37% declined as the dollar rallied.
Bitcoin -7.77% fell following reports roughly 850,000 bitcoins previously lost by shuttered Japanese exchange Mt. Gox have been recovered.