Wall Street Slides Across the Board... Nasdaq Drops 2.2%
The three major U.S. stock indexes (the three representative indicators tracking stock market trends) fell together on December 16, Eastern Time. On the 16th (Eastern Time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,002.41, down 175.28 points (0.34%) from the previous session, at the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index lost 84.62 points (1.09%) to finish at 7,659.44, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index ended trading at 26,140.03, down 572.99 points (2.15%). The Nasdaq, with its heavy weighting of technology stocks, posted the steepest decline at 2.15%.
AI-related and semiconductor stocks led the drop. As concerns over AI cloud company CoreWeave's corporate bonds resurfaced, CoreWeave plunged 11.95%, and Nebius (-12.18%) and others also suffered double-digit losses. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has now fallen for eight consecutive trading days through Tuesday, extending its longest losing streak since the 2008 global financial crisis. Micron dropped 5.6%, while SK Hynix ADR (-6.6%), AMD (-5.95%), and Broadcom (-4.5%) also tumbled sharply.
Big tech weakness continued as well. Microsoft and Alphabet fell around 2%, and Meta declined 3.7%. Tesla rose more than 3% in premarket trading after unveiling its second-generation Roadster, but gave up all its intraday gains to close down 2%. Tesla demonstrated the vehicle's ability to hover and spin in the air, but the stock turned lower on news that actual mass production will not begin until 2028.
European markets closed higher across the board. The Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.58% to 6,204.23, and Germany's DAX climbed 0.95% to 25,622.61. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.38% to 10,881.90, and France's CAC 40 finished up 0.28% at 7,956.70.
International oil prices surged. Brent crude for December delivery rose 3.72% to settle at $109.86 a barrel on London's ICE, its highest level since May 19. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange also jumped 3.51% to $101.41 a barrel, marking its seventh consecutive daily gain and its highest price since September 17.
