Tesla Slides 11.4% for Biggest Decline in S&P 500 – Vigour Times

Stocks closed lower Tuesday, adding to the market’s recent losses as Wall Street counts down its final days of a painful year for investors. A slide in technology companies, automakers, and airlines weighed on the market, offsetting gains in energy stocks and other sectors, the AP reports. News that China lifted some of its COVID-19 restrictions helped lift stocks in the early going. The S&P 500 fell 15.57 points to 3,829.25. The Nasdaq dropped 144.64 points to 10,353.23. The Dow rose 37.63 points to 33,241.56. Technology and communication services companies accounted for a big share of the decliners in the S&P 500. Apple fell 1.4% and Netflix lost 3.7%.

Tesla fell 11.4% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks. The electric vehicle maker, which is on course for its worst-ever annual stock performance, temporarily suspended production at a factory in Shanghai, Reuters reports. Airline stocks were broadly lower after a massive winter storm caused widespread delays and forced several carriers to cancel flights over the weekend. Delta Air Lines closed 0.8% lower, American Airlines dropped 1.4% and JetBlue slid 1.1%. Southwest Airlines slid 5.9% after the company had to cancel roughly two-thirds of its flights over the last couple of days, which it blamed on problems related to staffing and weather. The federal government said it would investigate why the company lagged so far behind other carriers.

Trading on Wall Street is expected to be relatively light this holiday-shortened week as investors look ahead to 2023 after a dismal year for stocks. Uncertainty about how far the Federal Reserve and other central banks will go to fight the highest inflation in decades has kept investors on edge. The Fed raised its key interest rate seven times this year and has signaled more hikes to come in 2023, though the pace of price increases has been easing. The high rates, which weigh heavily on prices for stocks and other investments, have fueled concerns that the economy could slow too much and slip into a recession next year. The benchmark S&P 500 index set an all-time high at the beginning of January, but is now down nearly 20% for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down nearly 34%.

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