Markets Slide as Economic Worries Grow

Markets Slide as Economic Worries Grow

The major markets saw losses across most indices last week. The decline came after a strong start to the week. Markets were closed on Monday for President’s Day, but by Tuesday, the S&P 500 hit new all-time highs for two straight days. However, by Thursday, the market started to drop, and by Friday, the losses grew significantly.

Looking at the sectors, the biggest losses came from Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services. Other sectors also saw losses, closing about 2% lower for the week. This broad sell-off affected the NASDAQ, which is heavily focused on IT and Consumer Discretionary, as well as the Dow Jones, which includes sectors like Financials.

The negative mood was driven by several factors. The economic data showed weakness in the housing market, with lower-than-expected results in home builder confidence, housing starts, and existing home sales. Jobless claims also came in higher than expected, and consumer sentiment dropped.

Major Markets		YTD as of 02/21/2025
	Nasdaq
	Dow Jones Industrial
	S&P 500
	MSCI World
	MSCI EM
	Russell 2000
	Bar US Agg Bnd

S&P Sectors

YTD as of 02/21/2025

Comm. Services

Cons. Discretionary

Cons. Staples

Energy

Financials

Health Care

Industrials

Info. Technology

Materials

Real Estate

Utilities

Agent/Broker Dealer Use Only

A key finding from the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey showed that the 5-year inflation expectation reached its highest level since April 1995. The survey also revealed growing concerns about tariffs and other factors affecting consumer confidence.

The week ended with news that the Department of Justice would investigate UnitedHealth’s billing practices on Medicare plans . This caused the company’s stock to drop by more than 7% by the end of the day. UnitedHealth is one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a major component of the S&P 500, although the overall S&P 500 Health Care Sector still managed to close the week positive. This investigation is another challenge for the healthcare giant, following its all-time high in November and the recent shooting of its CEO.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/doj-investigates-medicare-billing-practices-unitedhealth-wsj-reports-2025-02-21/

High earner? Learn how a backdoor Roth IRA can help maximize your retirement savings—even if you face income limits.

The S&P 500® Index is a capitalization index of 500 stock-designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of stock representing all major industries. https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500

The Dow Jones Industrial Average® (The Dow®), is a price-weighted measure of 30 U.S. blue-chip companies. The index covers all industries except transportation and utilities. https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/dow-jones-industrial-average

The NASDAQ Composite Index measures all NASDAQ domestic and international based common type stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market. Today the NASDAQ Composite includes over 2,500 companies, more than most other stock market indexes. Because it is so broad-based, the Composite is one of the most widely followed and quoted major market indexes. https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/Index/Overview/COMP

The MSCI World Index, which is part of The Modern Index Strategy, is a broad global equity benchmark that represents large and mid-cap equity performance across 23 developed markets countries. It covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country and MSCI World benchmark does not offer exposure to emerging markets.

The MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index is designed to represent the performance of large- and mid-cap securities in 24 Emerging Markets countries of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. As of December 2017, it had more than 830 constituents and covered approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. https://www.msci.com/

The S&P GSCI Crude Oil index provides investors with a reliable and publicly available benchmark for investment performance in the crude oil market. https://us.spindices.com/indices

Companies in the S&P 500 Sector Indices are classified based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®). https://us.spindices.com/indices

Weekly Market Commentary