Dow drops more than 300 points in thin trading as bull market cools in final days of 2024: Live updates

Stocks moved lower on Monday in one of the last few trading sessions of 2024, potentially putting a sour ending on a banner year for investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 357 points, or 0.8%, and was down more than 700 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 lost 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1%.

There was no apparent news catalyst for Monday’s decline and trading was expected to be light given the shortened week. The SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY) had about 23 million shares in total volume shortly after noon ET, an abnormally low amount for a day for with a significant market decline.

The major averages are heading into the yearend shy of record levels, with the S&P 500 and Dow up about 23% and 13%, respectively, and on track for the best year since 2021. The Nasdaq has gained 30% in 2024 and is on pace for its longest quarterly winning streaking since 2021.

However, some worries have mounted that the market may be losing momentum, with what appears to be year-end profit taking after the major averages notched losing sessions Friday. Large tech stocks were struggling again on Monday, with shares of Tesla losing 2% and Amazon falling 1.3%. Chip giant Nvidia did rise 1%, helping to stem losses elsewhere.

“I really think we’re going to take a pause this next year,” Jeremy Siegel, senior economist to WisdomTree and emeritus professor of Finance at The Wharton School, said on “Squawk on the Street.”

“As time has gone on, I think the probability of a correction next year, which is defined as a 10% drop in the S&P, is getting higher. … The major forces to propel things upward I think have already been built in,” Siegel added.

Trading in the bond market could also be contributing to the pullback in tech stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield traded above 4.6% last week, though it retreated on Monday morning.

Investors are hoping that stocks will find their footing again and trigger what’s known as a Santa Claus Rally. The phenomenon refers to the market rising into the final five trading days of a calendar year and the first two in January. The S&P 500 has returned 1.3% on average during this period since 1950, according to LPL Financial. 

However, investors shouldn’t worry too much about late-year weakness, Fundstrat head of research Tom Lee said Monday on “Squawk Box.”

“It is not a liquid environment because we’re in the final two days of the year. … Strangely, if the last week of December is weak, I actually think it bodes well for a rebound in the first week of January,” Lee said.

The upcoming days are a light period for economic data, with the market closed Wednesday in observance of New Years Day. The Chicago purchasing managers index for December did miss expectations on Monday, coming in at 36.9. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a reading of 42.2.