Summary
The stock market remains in pullback mode. For a second straight day on Wednesday, mega-cap Information Technology dragged the major indices lower. The Technology Sector SPDR (XLK) dropped 0.7% and has given back 3% since its closing all-time high on August 13 (five trading days ago). But that’s not the entire story, as there have been some massive declines in many IT names. Still, let’s keep this in perspective, as the losses are coming after huge upside advances. One of the most-loved names in IT and AI is PLTR, which has dropped 16.6% in six days after an epic run from around $20 in mid-2024 to $187 on August 12 (and with an incredible 150% run from its closing low in April, just over four months ago). CRWV is another example and a recent IPO. The stock exploded from the $40 region in late March to $184 on June 20. Since then, the stock has dropped back to $92. Parabolic advances don’t end well and there are a fair number of charts that are starting to resemble Christmas trees. On Wednesday, IT was led lower by the computer hardware industry, with $3.4 trillion AAPL declining 2% and the smaller DELL falling 5%. The semiconductor ETFs (SOXX and SMH), which led Tuesday’s drop, fell just under
