US equity markets fell sharply on Friday night AEST (29 January), with the benchmark indices capping their worst weekly and monthly performance since October as investors eyed COVID-19 vaccine rollout delays and as surging prices on a small group of heavily shorted stocks continued to take oxygen out of the market as hedge funds covered short positions and reduced exposure to other stocks to reduce risk - Dow tumbled -621-points or -2.03% to 29,982.62, marking the indice’s lowest settlement – and first close below <30,000 - since 14 December, 2020. The broader S&P500 dropped -1.93%. Energy (down -3.39%), Information Technology (-2.40%), Industrials (-2.09%), Consumer Discretionary (-2.08%), Consumer Staples (-2.04%) and Financials (-2.02%) all logged falls of over >2% and all eleven primary sectors closed in the red. American Airlines Group Inc (down -5.14%) authorised the sale of another US$1B in stock, the carrier said in a filing on Friday (29 January), in an effort to shore up cash as COVID-19 continues to depress travel demand. Both the Dow and S&P500 closed below their respective 50-day moving averages (3,716) for the first time since October last year. The Nasdaq slumped -2.00%, with Apple Inc down -3.74%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index fell -1.60%. For the week, the Dow dropped -3.27% S&P500 -3.31% and Nasdaq -3.49%. The Russell 2000 lost -1.6% last week. For the month, Dow lost -2.04% and S&P500 -1.11%, marking the worst monthly performance for both indices since last October. The Nasdaq gained +1.42%.
