Anxiety about global trade policy and an ongoing rout in technology stocks have put the S&P 500 in danger of ending its six-year streak of Thanksgiving week gains, the latest milestone threatened by recent market turbulence. The benchmark stock index, which fell 1.7% Monday and is 8.2% below its Sept. 20 record, has climbed every week of Thanksgiving going back to 2012, according to Dow Jones Market Data. In the past 10 years, the index has averaged a 1.3% advance during Thanksgiving week, and posted a 0.7% climb on average that week going back to 1950. That compares to a 0.2% average climb in an ordinary week. Internet stocks have driven much of the recent success, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite averaging a 1.3% rise the week of Thanksgiving in the last 20 years. But tech has struggled in recent weeks, illustrating an ongoing tension as investors debate whether stocks can continue climbing with leadership from other sectors. The Nasdaq dropped 3% Monday, putting it 13% below its August record. Apple, Amazon.com, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook and Netflix all fell at least 3.3%. The latest leg lower for U.S. stocks came after a weekend economic summit of world leaders ended in acrimony, the most recent setback for investors hoping that a resolved U.S.-China tariff fight will help markets stabilize late in the year. Continued trade uncertainty and concern about peaking profit growth have also threatened other stock-market achievements recently. The S&P 500 ended a six-month winning streak last month. The largest technology companies have lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market value, pulling Apple and Amazon well below $1 trillion after the duo became the first U.S. companies to reach the threshold earlier this year. Many of the market’s leaders from recent years are now in bear markets, defined as a drop of 20% from a recent peak. And even with companies posting their largest profit increases in several years, the S&P 500 is now up just 0.6% in 2018, after climbing in five of the past six years. Investors banking on a rebound this week and in December hope upcoming retail earnings or positive trade news could improve that mark in the coming days. History could also provide some solace: The S&P 500 has risen 85% of the time on the Tuesday through Friday of Thanksgiving week since 1950. —Kenny Jimenez contributed to this article. Are you anticipating more stock-market declines this week? Let the author know your thoughts at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com. Emailed comments may be edited before publication in future newsletters, and please make sure to include your name and location. |