These 5 components of the Standard & Poor’s 500 have each declined in price by 10% or more since the beginning of February.
This is notable as the headline story for the stock market has been “new highs” thanks to the dramatic outperformance of a select handful of big cap tech and social media equities.
The number of advancing issues versus the number of declining issues has been steadily declining with each “higher high” in the major indexes since November 2023.
The focus in the media on the hottest stocks with the most well-known names is a distraction from the underlying weaknesses of the market.
These 5 S&P 500 Components Slipped By 10% Or More Since 2/1/2024.
Akamai.
After a nice mostly straight-up move from the June low of $88, the stock peaked in early February at just above $128. The rest of the month has been ugly with heavy selling — as indicated by the reddish bars under the price candlesticks. Now trading at$108, Akamai has managed to stay above an up trending 200-day moving average.
Intel.
The up trend from the late October low of $32 to the late December high of $51 amounts to a 59% gain. It didn’t last, however, as the stock dropped to an early February price of $42 and has failed to gain much traction as the month progressed. Intel trades below its 50-day moving average and above an up trending 200-day moving average.
Palo Alto Networks.
It’s an extraordinary gap down for a stock in the hot tech sector — from $380 in early February to a low of $260, a 31% drop before a short bounce back upward. Note the heaviness of the selling volume. It seems as if the up trending 200-day moving average is an area where significant support may be found, at least for now.
Paramount Global.
Talk about ups and downs, this one is showing quite a months-long battle between buyers and sellers. The early November low is $10.50. The early December high is just below $17.50. The sell-off from there takes it back to the current $11.21. Paramount Global now trades below both its down trending 50 and 200-day moving averages.
Zions Bancorp.
One of the regional banks that suffered from the early 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse, Zion hit a late June low of just below $26. The on-and-off rally from there took it up to the December high of $46.
In late January, it gapped down and sold off further into a February low of around $38. Like the other stocks listed here, Zions Bancorp is off by more than 10% just in the 2nd month of 2024.