On February 23rd (Eastern Time), the three major U.S. stock indexes closed collectively lower as market risk aversion heated up. Weighted stocks such as S&P Global performed weakly, further dragging down the market. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.58% to 48,842.06 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.17% to 22,619.12 points, and the S&P 500 Index declined 1.08% to 6,834.97 points. All three indexes continued their recent volatile downward trend.
Among them, S&P Global (nySE: SPGI) performed particularly poorly, with its stock price falling 3.04% to close at $404.78 on the day, a single-day drop of $12.70. The turnover rate reached 0.85%, and the total market value shrank to $121.029 billion. From a recent perspective, S&P Global’s stock price has been under sustained pressure, falling from $494.19 to the current level in the past three months, a cumulative decline of 18.09%, hitting a new stage high in decline.
Market analysis points out that S&P Global’s stock price decline is mainly affected by two factors: first, the intensification of differences in monetary policy within the Federal Reserve has increased uncertainty about market expectations for interest rate cuts, putting overall pressure on the financial sector; second, the slowdown in global economic recovery momentum has led investors to lower their expectations for corporate profit growth, increasing the pressure on valuation corrections of weighted stocks. In addition, the VIX Volatility Index rose 10.85% to 21.15 on the day, reflecting the continuous rise in market risk aversion and obvious signs of capital outflows.
Industry insiders predict that U.S. stocks will maintain a volatile downward pattern in the short term, and the valuation recovery of weighted stocks such as S&P Global will need to wait for the clarification of monetary policy and improvement in economic data. Investors need to be vigilant about market volatility risks, reasonably control their positions, and focus on the Federal Reserve’s subsequent policy trends and corporate financial report performance.
