Just two days after the S&P 500 hit an all-time high, big sell-offs in biotech and tech took the market to its news, with the Nasdaq recording its worst day since Nov. 2011. The day stood in sharp contrast to earlier in the week, and fueled speculation that a major market correction is in the works.
Hedge fund manager Uri Landesman told MarketWatch that investors can expect more losses soon, saying that “Techs and biotechs really haven’t cracked yet. I think it’ll happen and people will be surprised how much they can really go down.”
While the future as always remains uncertain, biotech indeed got hit hard on April 10, with Gilead Sciences (GILD) shedding 6.72 percent, Vertex Pharmaceutical (VRTX) losing 5.83, and Celgene ($CELG) off 5.08 percent on the day.
Tech didn’t fare much better. One day after rising 7.1 percent in one trading session, Facebook ($FB) pulled back sharply, shedding 4.55 percent amid exceptionally heavy volume. Netflix (NFLX) fared even worse, losing 5.08 percent, and contributing to the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s big pullback.
The S&P and DJIA were down as well, with Windstream (WIN) being the only play in the S&P to gain over 2 percent on the day. American Express (AXP) led the plunge for the Dow, losing 3.79 percent.
Market Results for April 10, 2014
- Standard & Poor’s 500: -2.09 percent to 1,833.08 points
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: – 1.62 percent to 16,170.22 points
- NASDAQ Exchange: -3.1 percent to 4,054.11 points
Our Top Stories
- Sam Stovall of S&P Capital stood against the bears on this dark day for the market, saying investors shouldn’t be discouraged.
- Marc Faber takes the exact opposite approach, telling CNBC that 2014 will go down in the books as “worse than 1987.”
- The digital investment space did not escape Thursday’s market bloodshed, with the cryptocurrency bitcoin falling below $400 a coin for the first time in 2014 amid worsening regulatory news from China.
- On the entertainment side, the search for David Letterman’s replacement on the Late Show ends after just five days, with satirist Stephen Colbert officially pegged as the successor to the $20 million a year job.
- The Mayor of Seattle pushes to make internet access more easily accessible for the entire city’s population, raising the question as to whether getting online is a privilege or a right.
Stocks
- Toni Turner calls LinkedIn (LNKD) , Facebook, and Amazon (AMZN) “falling knives” and warns long-term investors to watch out.
- Growth ETFs were nailed on Thursday, with the tech-tracking Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) and Global X Social Media ETF (SOCL) being notable big losers on the day.
