Stocks Settle Sharply Lower as Tech Stocks Routed

Economic Indicators - Weekly initial unemployment claims in the US are expected to decrease by 11,000 to 225,000 [1] - November CPI is projected to rise by 3.1% year-over-year, while core CPI is expected to increase by 3.0% year-over-year [1] - Existing home sales for November are anticipated to rise by 1.2% month-over-month to 4.15 million [1] - The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December is expected to be revised upward by 0.2 to 53.5 [1] Mortgage Applications - US MBA weekly mortgage applications fell by 3.8% for the week ending December 12, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down by 2.8% and refinancing down by 3.6% [2] - The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased by 5 basis points to 6.38% from 6.33% [2] Stock Market Performance - The S&P 500 Index closed down by 1.16%, the Dow Jones down by 0.47%, and the Nasdaq 100 down by 1.93% [6] - AI-infrastructure stocks and chip makers experienced significant sell-offs, with GE Vernova down over 10% and Constellation Energy down over 6% [13] - Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks also fell, with Bitcoin dropping over 2% [14] Energy Sector - Energy producers saw gains as WTI crude oil rose by more than 1%, with Devon Energy up over 5% and ConocoPhillips up over 4% [16] - Mining stocks increased due to heightened tensions in Venezuela, boosting demand for precious metals [4] International Markets - The Euro Stoxx 50 fell to a 2-week low, down by 0.63%, while China's Shanghai Composite rose by 1.19% [7] - Japan's Nikkei Stock 225 recovered, closing up by 0.26% [7] Bond Market - March 10-year T-notes fell by 0.5 of a tick, with the yield rising by 0.6 basis points to 4.151% [8] - T-notes found support from solid demand in a $13 billion auction of 20-year T-bonds, which had a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.67 [9] - The yield curve has steepened since the last FOMC meeting, indicating bearish sentiment for T-note prices [10] Earnings Reports - Companies reporting earnings include Accenture PLC, Birkenstock Holding Plc, CarMax Inc, Cintas Corp, Darden Restaurants Inc, FactSet Research Systems Inc, FedEx Corp, HEICO Corp, and NIKE Inc [21]