US stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite index for technology leading declines for its worst day since March, on fears that equities will exhibit their traditional character of correcting this month in line with the adage "Sell in May and go away."
NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2021) US stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite index for technology leading declines for its worst day since March, on fears that equities will exhibit their traditional character of correcting this month in line with the adage "Sell in May and go away."
The Nasdaq fell 1.9 percent, or 266 points, to 13,629 by 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT), hitting a bump after April's upward trajectory, despite strong quarterly earnings at Big Tech Names such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, microsoft and Google. Tuesday's drop was the sharpest in a day for the Nasdaq since March 24, when it fell just over 2 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Wall Street's broadest stock indicator comprising mostly industrial stocks, was down 0.8 percent, or 271 points, to 33,843.
The S&P 500 index, which groups the top 500 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, was the only one bucking the broader trend, rising 0.3 percent, or rising 12 points, to 4,193.
"Sell in May and go away" in a time-honored saying in financial markets as traders tend to liquidate their holdings in that May just before embarking on summer vacations. It will be interesting to see if that trend bears out this year as the US and European economies show promising recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and travel reopens between the two regions.
"Whether it's May or not, after a strong six-month run, a period of lacklustre trading could be expected," said Sophie Griffiths, head of UK research at online brokerage OANDA.
Despite Tuesday's slide, the Nasdaq index remained up about 6 percent on the year while the Dow showed a 11 percent gain and the S&P a 11.6 percent advance.
