Confidence in the Economy Is Plunging, and so Are Stock Prices The Entrepreneur Index™ hit the skids on Monday.
By Andrew Osterland •
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The Entrepreneur index was down 2.71% today with tech stocks leading the fall. The three major indexes posted declines with the Dow 30 and S&P 500 indexes off 1.56% and 1.66% respectively, and the Nasdaq Composite index down 3.03%.
Market signals suggest investors believe the U.S. economy is headed for a slowdown. The U.S. dollar has dropped more than 2% in the last two trading sessions and interest rates have fallen dramatically in the last two weeks. After Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed members expressed concern last week with slowing global growth, the 10-year Treasury bond yield has been in a free-fall. Down two points today to 3.05%, it has fallen 18 points in the last ten days, as investors expect the Fed's rate hiking cycle may be shortened.
Technology stocks are suffering most from all the economic anxiety. NVIDIA Inc., which makes computer chips for gaming and graphics applications, fell 12% on the day -- the biggest decline on the Entrepreneur index. The drop comes after a 19% fall last Friday after the company's third quarter revenues missed estimates, and it lowered forward guidance. One of the hottest tech stocks for most of this year, NVIDIA is now down a staggering 50% since the beginning of October.
Adobe Systems Inc. (-8.04%) and salesforce.com (-8.71%) also had sharp declines today. All four FANG stocks -- the undisputed leaders of this bull market -- were down more than 4%, with Facebook posting the biggest decline of 5.72%. They are all now technically in bear market territory, trading more than 20% below their recent highs.
Boston Scientific Corp. fell 5.16% today. The medical device maker has been posting great financial results and its stock is still up 42% this year.
Other big declines on the Entrepreneur index outside the technology sector included Alexion Pharmaceuticals (-3.0%), Wynn Resorts (-3.29), and clothing makers Ralph Lauren (-3.27) and Under Armour Inc. (-2.8%).
Ford Motor Co. had the biggest gain on the day, rising 2.21%. The automotive giant is down 26% on the year and now sports a dividend yield of almost 6.5%. Specialty insurer Aflac Inc. had the second biggest gain today, rising 1.79%.
The REIT stocks were solid amidst the general selling pressure. Macerich Company(1.3%), Simon Property Group(0.95%), and Essex Property Trust(0.84%) had the biggest gains in the sector.
Homebuilder D.R. Horton also managed to eke out a 0.52% gain despite a plunge in the November homebuilder sentiment reading released by the National Association of Home Builders today. D.R. Horton's stock, one of the most sensitive on the Entrepreneur index to interest rates and economic news, is down 32% so far this year.
The Entrepreneur Index™ collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time on Entrepreneur.com.
