MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Hits Records, But Tech Selloff Weighs On S&P 500, Nasdaq

FAANG stocks drop dramatically

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose further into record territory on Wednesday, but a selloff in megacap technology shares, such as Facebook Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. weighed on the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62 points, or 0.3%, to 23,896, setting an intraday record.

The S&P 500 index was flat 2,626, with eight of its 11 main indexes trading higher. Financials were leading the gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-stocks-take-flight-as-washington-signals-regulatory-rollbacks-2017-11-29), up 2.3%, however, the gains were counterbalanced by a selloff in the technology sector, which fell 2.5%.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 83 points, or 1.2%, to 6,826.

All three benchmarks closed at record highs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-gathers-strength-for-higher-open-as-traders-brace-for-powell-hearing-2017-11-28) on Tuesday, as progress on a Republican tax overhaul appeared to offset worries about a North Korean missile test.

The three equity indexes have gained between 17% and 28% for the year, boosted by an expanding U.S. economy, rising corporate profits, anemic expected returns for other assets and bets that the Trump administration will deliver on tax cuts and other business-friendly policies.

See:Why the Korean won is shrugging off missile worries to trade near a 2 1/2 -year high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-the-korean-won-is-shrugging-off-missile-worries-to-trade-near-2-12-year-high-2017-11-28)

What are strategists saying?

"This is a dramatic rotation out of high-octane tech stocks, which is exacerbated by passive flows into index funds," said Ian Winer, head of the equities division at Wedbush Securities.

"Since so many portfolios had the same positions and are rebalancing, what we are seeing is a mini unwind of momentum stocks. It is difficult to say whether it will spill over to the rest of the market at some point," Winer said.

Which stocks look like key movers?

Shares of so-called FAANG stocks were hardest hit. Facebook Inc.(FB) fell 4.1%, Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) declined 3.5%. Apple Inc.(AAPL) and Google parent Alphabet Inc.(GOOGL) fell more than 2%.

Shares of NVIDIA Corp.(NVDA) dropped (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidias-stock-sinks-toward-biggest-3-day-selloff-in-21-months-2017-11-29) 7.6%, while Netflix Inc.(NFLX) lost 5.5%.

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG) surged 4.7% to 5-week high after the company announced it's begun the search for a new CEO.

Allergan PLC(AGN) stock jumped after analysts at Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the stock to overweight from equal-weight.

Shares in Autodesk Inc.(ADSK) plunged 14% action for the S&P 500's biggest drop after the software company late Tuesday announced a restructuring plan (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/autodesk-plans-layoffs-stock-plummets-after-earnings-2017-11-28) along with its quarterly earnings.

Movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group(RGC) rose 5.6% after British counterpart Cineworld Group PLC(CINE.LN) (CINE.LN) said it's in talks to buy the American company for $3.1 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-theater-chain-cineworld-makes-36-billion-bid-for-regal-entertainment-2017-11-28). Regal has confirmed the discussions (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/regal-entertainments-stock-soars-after-confirming-buyout-talks-with-cineworld-2017-11-29).

Marvell Technology Group Ltd.(MRVL) rose 1.1% after the chipmaker's quarterly results and outlook topped forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marvell-tech-shares-tick-higher-as-earnings-outlook-beat-street-view-2017-11-28) late Tuesday.

Tiffany & Co.(TIF) was down 2.6% even as the high-end jeweler posted better-than-expected quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tiffanys-stock-jumps-after-profit-and-sales-rise-above-expectations-2017-11-29) before the opening bell.

What are other assets doing?

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-propel-european-stocks-to-3-week-high-after-powell-hearing-2017-11-29) mostly advanced, while Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-in-china-hong-kong-continue-to-fade-2017-11-28). Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-fall-after-us-inventory-reading-shows-surprise-spike-2017-11-29) fell after an American Petroleum Institute release indicated a surprise increase in U.S. crude supplies.

A key U.S. dollar index () was little changed, but the buck was dropping in particular against the British pound as reports signaled progress in the Brexit negotiations. Gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-pulls-back-from-one-week-highs-as-dollar-index-tips-higher-2017-11-29) traded slightly lower.

What could help drive the market?

Traders will be tracking progress on a U.S. tax overhaul after the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday voted 12-11 to advance a Republican tax bill. A full Senate vote could be held as early as Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/senate-budget-committee-advances-republican-tax-bill-on-party-lines-2017-11-28).

In economic news, the U.S. economy's pace of growth in the third quarter was raised to 3.3% from 3% under the government's latest revision to gross domestic product. The rise was in line with expectations.

Pending-home sales jumped 3.5% in October, but remained 0.6% lower than a year ago. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a report that provides anecdotal evidence about U.S. economic conditions is due at 2 p.m. Eastern.

See also: Live blog of Janet Yellen's last hearing before Congress (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2017/11/29/live-blog-of-janet-yellens-last-hearing-before-congress/)

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 29, 2017 12:18 ET (17:18 GMT)