The next-to-last-day of 2014 was a tumultuous one on Wall Street, as low volume trading led to a decline of almost 2% in the utilities sector.
Overall, 2014 has been a positive year for utilities, which are up more than 25%. That’s why many experts were caught off guard by Tuesday’s struggles.
In fact, it was a bad day for stocks worldwide on Tuesday, as continued worries over the Russian economy were joined by a new concern in Europe. Greece failed to elect a president Monday, leading to increased speculation that the nation could ultimately depart from the European Union. Most major European and Asian indexes lost 1% or more Tuesday.
The Consumer Confidence Index—one of the few pieces of data expected this week—came in this morning at a lower-than-expected 92.6.
Here were the final numbers on Tuesday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,983.07 (-55.16)
NASDAQ: 4,777.44 (-29.47)
S&P 500: 2,080.35 (-10.22)
