Market Update (9/03)

The markets took a hit on Thursday with major indexes lower by at least 2.8% at the close. The pronounced sell-off came as a surprise with investors not yet able to point to a specific reason for the negative sentiment. Some speculated that inflated valuations and a historic run higher in the indexes made the markets ripe for a correction. Seller’s are taking profits in bellwether stocks, some of which traded at all-time highs this week. Amazon (AMZN) is down 4.6%, Apple (AAPL) lower by 7.9%, and Facebook (FB) declined by more than 3.7% , each contributing largely to the indexes sell-off. The Vix volatility index closed higher by 31% to $35.22.

Indexes were decidedly bearish. The $DJI closed lower by 2.8% to 28,284.38. The NASDAQ Composite is lower to 11,458.10 down 4.96%. The S&P 500 closed lower by 3.52% to close at 3454.89. The Russell 2000 also lost ground to close lower by 3.01% to 1544.06.

The InvestorsPrism family of indexes closed the day mixed. The PRISM Emerging Gene Therapy index closed higher by 0.1%. The PRISM Emerging MedCannabis index moved higher by 0.3%. The PRISM Emerging MedDevices index fell by 1.0%.

Other PRISM indexes followed the path of the broader markets. The PRISM Emerging MedDiagnostics index fell by 4.2%. The PRISM Emerging New Economy index is lower by 5.1%, and the PRISM Emerging Pet Care & AgriBiz index closed lower by 0.9%. Tracking biotechs, the PRISM Emerging Vaccines & Cell Therapy index closed lower by 4.0%.

The top commodities followed the securities markets lower as of 4:00pm ET. Compared to Wednesday’s 4:00pm prices, Crude Oil is lower by roughly fifty cents to $41.27 per barrel, Gold lower by seven dollars $1938.50 per oz., and Silver also lower to $26.79 per oz.. Bitcoin’s ($BTC) drop in value continued from Wednesday, shedding roughly $712.00 to trade at $10,687.26 as of 4pm est.

*data as of market close at 4pm est on 9/03/20