Stocks closed sharply lower in the worst decline since the Jan. 3 sell-off, as the S&P 500 today dipped below the important 50-day moving average but closed just above it.
XThe S&P 500 lost 1.4% and closed just above the 50-day average. On Thursday, the index also made it back above that price-trend indicator. That raises the possibility of a pullback in the market to digest the big rebound from late December to January.
The Nasdaq composite slid 1.9% on a day when technology shares suffered some of the worst losses in the stock market. The Nasdaq also closed a bit above its 50-day average.
Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and other major Nasdaq stocks slid 2% to more than 4%. The Philadelphia semiconductor index gave up 2.9%.
Netflix (NFLX) skidded 4.1% even after its original film, "Roma," got 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.2%. Indexes trimmed losses late in the day amid a broad sell-off. Declining stocks led advancers by nearly 10-to-3 on the NYSE and the Nasdaq. Volume fell from Friday, an options-expiration session, which generally lifts volume, according to early figures.
Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) fell 1.4% after paring losses late. Few IBD 50 stocks rose, and among those were the defensive Store Capital (STOR) real estate investment trust and Kirkland Lake Gold (KL), the Canadian mining company.
Economic Worries Creep Up
Wall Street dumped stocks after China's latest economic growth numbers showed significant weakness. Adding to economic worries, the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast.
CNBC reported that the U.S. canceled a meeting with Chinese negotiators over intellectual property rules. The news diluted hopes that the U.S. and China are drawing closer to settling their trade dispute. Late in the session, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said reports of the meeting cancellation were not true.
Industrial and retail sectors also were down more than most. Fears over trade tariffs seemed to hurt industrial shares.
Tuesday's selling didn't help the dearth of breakouts among top-rated stocks. Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) surged to a new high despite weakness in Chinese shares. But the stock, which is in IBD Leaderboard, faded and closed pennies above its 14.85 buy point.
Starbucks (SBUX) moved above its 50-day line for the first time since Dec. 31 and closed right at the line. The company said it is expanding its delivery service to six more U.S. cities through a partnership with UberEats.
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