The S&P 500 is down "only" 8.2% since its July 16 high. So why does the drop feel so bad? It's because staggering amounts of money are being lost.
Drops in just 10 S&P 500 stocks, including Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon.com, wiped out more than $2.6 trillion from investors' portfolios since mid-July, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. That lost value in just weeks is more than what the entire S&P 500 was worth in the mid-1980s.
Much of these massive losses is focused on just a handful of AI-infused giant tech stocks. These are the same stocks that soared in the first part of the year and pushed the S&P 500 to highs. Now, investors are worried they paid too much for these giants. The loss by just 10 stocks accounts for nearly two-thirds of the $4.2 trillion loss in value by the entire S&P 500 since mid-July. Much of it is due to rising fears of a recession.
"The perfect storm panicked tech sell-off has now gained steam after the weaker jobs report this morning fuels the R word fears and worries the Fed is now too late in its cutting cycle with tech stocks in the center of this Category 5 storm sell-off," said Dan Ives of Wedbush.
The Bigger They Are ...
Investors who rode market indexes concentrated into just a handful of winning stocks are feeling the other side now.
The 10 S&P 500 stocks to lose the most market value this year account for a whopping 30% of the index. And that means their losses sting all the more. Take Nvidia, which has been one of the top S&P 500 stocks for months. The stock is down roughly 20% since July 15. That translates into a massive loss of $629 billion, the largest amount lost since then for any S&P 500 company. But the size of the loss makes sense as you're shaving more than a tenth off a company valued at $2.6 trillion. It's easy to see why investors are so eager to own Nvidia, as it sports a near perfect 98 Composite Rating.
Microsoft underscores the theme that even moderate losses on a percentage basis can turn into huge dollar-value losses. The tech giant with an early lead in AI has seen its stock drop by nearly 12.5% since July 16. But don't tell investors who have lost $410 billion on the stock's fall this is just a minor fall. And while the stock is still up nearly 8% this year, the Composite Rating has fallen back to 72.
It's Mostly A Tech Problem
The top 10 losses in market value are mostly centered in the S&P 500 tech sector. All but one of the supersize losses are in companies closely associated with information technology. But there's one exception: Eli Lilly.
The maker of weight-loss drugs is in the health care sector. But the stock is suffering tech-like losses. Shares are off roughly 16% since July. That wipes out $141.1 billion in market value. Investors, though, still think Eli Lilly is a blockbuster machine. Despite the drop, the stock still carries a Relative Strength of 92 and Composite Rating of 94. Analysts think the company's profit will more than double this year and jump another 40% in 2025.
But in the meantime, this S&P 500 sell-off is getting uncomfortable.
Biggest Dollar-Value Losses In S&P 500
Since July 16, 2024 high
| Company | Ticker | % ch. From 7/16 | Market Value lost ($ billions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | NVDA | -20.3% | -$629.4 |
| Microsoft | MSFT | -12.3% | -$410.2 |
| Apple | AAPL | -10.7% | -$410.2 |
| Amazon.com | AMZN | -16.8% | -$324.2 |
| Alphabet | GOOGL | -11.8% | -$285.9 |
| Tesla | TSLA | -22.0% | -$178.9 |
| Eli Lilly | LLY | -16.6% | -$141.1 |
| Broadcom | AVGO | -16.7% | -$132.0 |
| Advanced Micro Devices | AMD | -23.9% | -$68.6 |
| Qualcomm | QCOM | -23.9% | -$58.2 |
