“It creates more volume in the market and some of the volatility associated with that.” “Just the sheer size of that plays into this,” he said. More than 750 billion single stock options were due to mature Friday, said McKnight. The phenomenon happens four times a year and forces traders to tie up loose ends in contracts they hold. Cruise line operator Carnival rose 2%, while Norwegian Cruise Line gained 2.1%.Īlso influencing the market’s gyrations was “quadruple witching,” the simultaneous expiration of four kinds of options and futures contracts. Some travel-related stocks made solid gains. Lab equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific was a standout with a 6.5% jump after giving investors an encouraging business update. Oilfield services company Schlumberger fell 1.9%. The weak energy prices helped pull down energy stocks. Oil prices fell 0.9% and natural gas prices fell 4.3%. Apple fell 1.8% and Facebook dropped 2.2%. Technology and communication stocks were the biggest weights on the market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.38% from 1.33% late Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies recovered from an early slide and rose 3.96 points, or 0.2%, to 2,236.87.īond yields rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 166.44 points, or 0.5%, to 34,584.88, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 137.96 points, or 0.9%, to 15,043.97. Despite being down about 0.6% for the week, the index is within 2.3% of the all-time high it set Sept. “We’ve seen a gradual deterioration over the course of the week, with two little up periods, but for the most part, generally a weakening (stock) market,” said Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Asset Management. Wall Street is also looking ahead to next Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve is due to deliver its latest economic and interest rate policy update. Trading has been choppy throughout the week as investors weighed a mixed bag of economic data reflecting how the economy is weathering a spike in COVID-19 cases and how it might continue its recovery in the coming months.

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