Stock Market Today: Bulls Retreat in Face of Growing Political, Health Risks
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death and worrying COVID-19 numbers in Europe added additional downward pressure on stocks Monday.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
A host of new concerns dragged the major indices lower to start the week and put the S&P 500 closer to an official correction after weeks of declines.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away late Friday, throwing even more turmoil into 2020's political landscape as elected officials and Americans argue over the process of nominating an RBG replacement who might drastically shift the balance of the Supreme Court.
And across the pond, several European nations are considering new restrictions to fight off what appears to be a second wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, spurring concerns about a similar fate in the U.S.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 3,281, putting it less than 2% away from correction territory (a decline of 10% or more from a peak) and putting it in danger of absorbing its worst September performance since sliding 11% in 2002.
While most of the major indices finished well off their lows, the Nasdaq Composite rebounded sharply and finished with a much more modest 0.1% decline to 10,778. Apple (AAPL, +3.0%) and Microsoft (MSFT, +1.1%) both finished well in the black.
"Investors should take a binary approach to the market at this point," says Marc Chaikin, founder of Chaikin Analytics, a quantitative investment research firm, based in Philadelphia. "Remain bullish but raise some cash as technology stocks bounce in the near-term. Look for opportunities to redeploy that cash as this short-term pullback plays out over the next 2-4 weeks."
"Buying the dips still makes sense, but upside expectations need to be scaled back," he adds.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.8% to 27,147.
- The small-cap Russell 2000 plunged 3.4% to 1,485.
Could Selling Accelerate Into the Election?
Turbulent trading is nothing new for the early fall months, but experts are cautioning that even more selling could be in store.
"September and October are not the best months historically for stocks, and have seen significant declines before like the 1929 and 1987 crashes," says Phil Towes, CEO of advisory firm Toews Corporation. "Watch COVID case counts across the country. That has been the most leading indicator, that might suggest that the economy will be forced into further layers of a market shutdown. That could bring about panic selling like we saw earlier this year."
Even a better-case scenario of bumpy but sideways trading could still shake out weaker hands, leading to outsize losses in low-quality stocks, so investors might consider a little pruning. Wall Street's analyst community has grown particularly wary of these nine stocks, for instance.
But watch out for danger from income-producing equities, too – not all dividend payers are open-and-shut bull cases. Here, we look at 11 dividend stocks that have been flagged by the DIVCON dividend-health rating system based on several financial metrics. They might not necessarily cut their payouts tomorrow, but they face uphill climbs for a variety of reasons – from high debt to weak cash flows to even federal investigations.
-
Dow Leads in Mixed Session on Amgen Earnings: Stock Market TodayThe rest of Wall Street struggled as Advanced Micro Devices earnings caused a chip-stock sell-off.
-
How to Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics Without OverpayingHere’s how to stream the 2026 Winter Olympics live, including low-cost viewing options, Peacock access and ways to catch your favorite athletes and events from anywhere.
-
Here’s How to Stream the Super Bowl for LessWe'll show you the least expensive ways to stream football's biggest event.
-
Nasdaq Slides 1.4% on Big Tech Questions: Stock Market TodayPalantir Technologies proves at least one publicly traded company can spend a lot of money on AI and make a lot of money on AI.
-
Stocks Close Down as Gold, Silver Spiral: Stock Market TodayA "long-overdue correction" temporarily halted a massive rally in gold and silver, while the Dow took a hit from negative reactions to blue-chip earnings.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into AMD Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayAdvanced Micro Devices stock is soaring thanks to AI, but as a buy-and-hold bet, it's been a market laggard.
-
Nasdaq Drops 172 Points on MSFT AI Spend: Stock Market TodayMicrosoft, Meta Platforms and a mid-cap energy stock have a lot to say about the state of the AI revolution today.
-
S&P 500 Tops 7,000, Fed Pauses Rate Cuts: Stock Market TodayInvestors, traders and speculators will probably have to wait until after Jerome Powell steps down for the next Fed rate cut.
-
S&P 500 Hits New High Before Big Tech Earnings, Fed: Stock Market TodayThe tech-heavy Nasdaq also shone in Tuesday's session, while UnitedHealth dragged on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average.
-
Dow Rises 313 Points to Begin a Big Week: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 is within 50 points of crossing 7,000 for the first time, and Papa Dow is lurking just below its own new all-time high.
-
Nasdaq Leads Ahead of Big Tech Earnings: Stock Market TodayPresident Donald Trump is making markets move based on personal and political as well as financial and economic priorities.
