The average S&P 500 stock is now down since the election
That escalated quickly.
The hawkish body language from the Federal Reserve — despite delivering a rate cut — hammered the markets Wednesday.
The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 had their second-worst days of the year, while the small-cap Russell 2000 suffered its largest decline of 2024.
The force of the sell-off was such that now some key market gauges are actually underwater since November 5. Of course, that’s when President-elect Donald J. Trump’s election win generated a strong stock-market reaction from investors excited by the prospect of both tax cuts and regulatory relaxation, which might provide a bit more pep for the domestic economy.
Today, the Trump bump is looking more like a hump verging on a potential slump as the US central bank grows more worried about inflation, though of course he isn’t even in office yet.
Of note: the equal-weighted edition of the S&P 500 is now down since Election Day. That is, the average member of the benchmark US stock index is worth less than it was on November 5.
