The U.S. stock market performed poorly on Friday, being dragged down by big tech stocks. Despite this, all three major indexes finished the week in the green.
The S&P 500 shed 1.11% or 66.75 to close at 5,970.84 points. The benchmark index still finished with a 0.66% weekly gain on the back of a strong Christmas Eve trading day.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 42,992.21 following a dip of 0.77% or 333.59 points. It finished 0.47% up for the week, breaking a three-week losing streak.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite expectedly had the biggest slide. It lost 1.49%, or 298.33 points, closing at 19,722.03. However, it also notched the biggest weekly gain, roughly 0.8%.
A big part of Friday’s slump was investors deciding to take profit on the souring tech stocks. Electric vehicle maker Tesla dropped by 4.95% after being up by as much as 10% earlier in the week. Chipmaker Nvidia lost 2.03% while iPhone maker Apple finished the day being 1.30%.
The time of year also played a role, with many investors rebalancing their portfolios or adjusting to different valuations.
However, the stock market is expected to improve at the start of 2025.
“The nation is experiencing a collective sigh of relief after navigating through a contentious election cycle and unusual market dynamics to end 2024 with strong year-to-date gains,” Todd Ahlsten chief investment officer at Parnassus Investments, told CNBC. “Looking ahead to 2025, the markets are expected to broaden and improve.”