Markets Close Lower, Dollar Boosted by Yellen Comments

Claman on Call: FBN’s Liz Claman with an after-hours web exclusive on the markets, ‘FANG’ stocks and the U.S. dollar.

A horrific shooting in California gripped the nation as well as the markets. The first reports of the breaking situation in San Bernardino drove stocks even deeper into the red.

The Dow was already losing more than 100 points, and sank to a loss of 158 points by market close. The S&P fell 23 points and the Nasdaq lost 33 points.

A small bright spot in Wednesday's markets was the four stocks that make up the FANG group -- Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Google/Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) -- are all poised to end the year with healthy double digit gains. Facebook and Amazon hit lifetime highs Wednesday!

This, as Barclays (NYSE:BCS) released a note predicting FANG stocks, with the exception of Netflix, will continue their rally into 2016.

Oil saw its biggest drop since October 12, falling 4.5% to close at $39.34. That's the first time it's closed below $40 dollars since August 26.

The dollar also had a huge day; the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, touched its highest level in 12-and-a-half years as expectations for a Fed rate hike rose after Chairwoman Janet Yellen spoke.