The S&P 500 (SPY) closed at 4,967.23, below 5,000, in reaction to a high inflation report posted weeks earlier. Some Fed officials commented about keeping interest rates high, while one suggested a rate hike.
After the markets closed, Reuters reported that the Fed report cited inflation and the U.S. election as a key financial stability risk. Those uncertainties will only accelerate the steady market selling of 0.5% to 2.0% daily. The 2% drop applies to the tech sector (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM). Both indices are sensitive to valuation pressures.
The Fed also said that 1,804 depository institutions used the emergency lending facility created in March 2023. That amounts to nearly 20% of all eligible firms. It shows how delicate the banking system is, especially regional banks. Watch Truist Financial (TFC), which posts results today. SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is an option for investors who want a basket of such holdings.
Biggest S&P 500 Holdings
Watch the biggest firms on the S&P 500 index (SPY) of 503 stocks. Information Technology has the highest weighting. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Nvidia (NVDA) account for between 5% to 7% of the ETF’s assets. Should their share price weaken further, it would hurt the ETF.
