Tech turbulence turns September sour for investors

US equity markets have soured in September as reflected by the Russell US indexes, driven in large part by a pullback in the US Technology sector and losses in US technology stocks in recent weeks.

The US large-cap Russell 1000® Index, while still up 7.4% in 2020 and 10.5% in the third quarter, has lost 2.8% month-to-date as of US market close on September 15. And the US small-cap Russell 2000® Index is off 1.5% thus far in September, with a 7% gain in the third quarter and a 6.9% loss year-to-date.

From a sector standpoint, Technology has helped contribute to the recent pullback, with a 6.1% and 4.9% decline for this sector in September within the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 Index, respectively.

Philip Lawlor, managing director, Global Equity Market Research:

TAKEAWAY

Philip Lawlor, managing director, Global Equity Market Research:

“US equity markets have enjoyed a fairly consistent upward trajectory in recent months driven in large part by gains in the high-flying Technology sector, but volatility has been reintroduced into the market in September, historically a more challenging month for equity markets.

And while we have seen a bounce back earlier this week, we’ve reached a clear inflection point as we move into the fall and investors begin to weigh concerns about election certainty and the potential downsides of higher taxes and increased regulation that may come with a Democratic sweep.

In addition, the progression of the coronavirus remains a wild card globally, and a potential “second wave” of infections in the US could deliver a major blow to market sentiment.”

Photo Credit: Gamaliel Cabana via Flickr Creative Commons

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