FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Nasdaq tumbles 1.8% in tech sell-off as Dow sets record

Nasdaq tumbles 1.8% in tech sell-off as Dow sets record

NEW YORK - Big tech shares including Apple, Amazon and Facebook fell sharply Friday as the Nasdaq retreated from a record, while the Dow in contrast finished at a new high.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.8 percent to end the session at 6,207.92, pulling back from Thursday's record.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent to end at 21,271.97, a new all-time high, while the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 percent to 2,431.77.

Analysts called the midday shift a sector rotation in which investors were taking profits from highly-valued sectors and putting the funds in areas that have underperformed, such as financials, energy and retailers.

Apple dropped 3.9 percent, Amazon fell 3.2 percent, Google parent Alphabet 3.4 percent and Netflix 4.7 percent.

"They've run up too far too fast," said Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates said of the high-tech stocks. "They became overvalued."

Big gainers in the Dow included oil giant Chevron, up 2.3 percent, and banks JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, which climbed 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Energy and financials have been laggards thus far in 2017. Retailers, another beaten-down sector, also did well in the session, with Macy's gaining 4.3 percent, Gap 2.4 percent and Target 4.2 percent.

"It is definitely a rotation," said Nate Thooft, senior managing director, Manulife Asset Management.

"When it started to crack a little bit this morning ...people jumped on the bandwagon and started taking some of their wins off the table."

Thooft said the gains in the Dow reflected relief that the British election and the congressional testimony of former FBI chief James Comey were over and no longer loomed over the market.

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