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Crypto stocks drop

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Boeing ( BA ) dips as South Korea begins crash investigation

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U.S. stock markets closed on Jan 9 (Thursday)

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Indexes down: Dow 0.97%, S&P 500 1.07%, Nasdaq 1.19%

(Updates with closing prices)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) -

Wall Street closed in negative territory on Monday in light

volume at the top of a holiday-shortened week in the

second-to-last trading session of an eventful year in which all

three indexes posted strong double-digit gains.

End-of-year tax positioning, valuations, climbing Treasury

yields and uncertainties about 2025 all contributed to the

risk-off sentiment. The three major U.S. stock indexes bounced

off early lows but still were down more than 0.5%.

The broad selloff dragged all 11 major S&P 500 sectors

into negative territory on the day.

"Investors are saying the S&P, even after this recent sell

off, is up over 50% in the last two years," said Oliver Pursche,

senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.

"Maybe we should take some chips off the table and protect those

gains. And when you have thin volume, it doesn't take a lot (to

move markets)."

Despite recent weakness, 2024 has been a banner year for

U.S. equities. The Nasdaq is on track for about a 30% annual

gain and the S&P 500 is headed for more than a 24% rise for

2024. The Dow remains up just over 13% from the last closing

levels of 2023.

On the sector level, technology, communication

services and consumer discretionary were on

course to notch gains of nearly 30% or more, while materials

appear poised to nab the dubious distinction of the

only sector to have lost ground on the year.

It was a year during which geopolitical tensions came to a

boil in the Middle East and elsewhere, while the Federal Reserve

cut U.S. interest rates for the first time in over four years.

In U.S. politics, former President Donald Trump was

convicted of 32 felonies early in the year, then won re-election

to a second term after President Joe Biden dropped out of the

race to be replaced as Democratic candidate by Vice President

Kamala Harris.

Chip maker Nvidia's ( NVDA ) stock shot up nearly 180% this

year as investors placed heavy bets on the promise of emergent

artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In November, Nvidia ( NVDA )

replaced rival chip maker Intel ( INTC ) in the Dow Jones

Industrial Average.

"Next year is going to be much more volatile for investors,

in particular in the first quarter," Pursche added. "However, I

do think there's a good chance of stocks doing reasonably well

and having mid-single-digit returns next year."

"The combination of likely lower taxes and a friendlier

regulatory environment is likely to result in stocks rising well

beyond fair valuations," Pursche said, citing investor

expectations that Trump will deliver on his campaign promises.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 418.48 points,

or 0.97%, to 42,573.73, the S&P 500 lost 63.90 points, or

1.07%, to 5,906.94 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 235.25

points, or 1.19%, to 19,486.79.

All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 lost ground on the

day, with consumer discretionary suffering the largest

percentage decline, falling 1.6%

Boeing ( BA ) shares fell 1.6% after South Korea's acting

president Choi Sang-mok ordered an emergency safety inspection

of its entire airline operation following the deadliest air

accident in that country's history, involving a Boeing ( BA ) 737-800.

Crypto stocks including MicroStrategy Coinbase

and MARA Holdings ( MARA ) tumbled from 3.8% to 8.2%

Biden declared a national day of mourning on Thursday Jan. 9

to mark the death on Sunday of former President Jimmy Carter.

The U.S. stock market will be closed that day.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.81-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. There were 55 new highs and 231 new lows on the

NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 1,604 stocks rose and 2,765 fell as

declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.72-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 15 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 118 new

lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.48 billion shares,

compared with the 14.75 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.