What you need to know on Wall Street today
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The topsy-turvy ride US stocks are on right now doesn't simply mark the return of equity volatility. It could also be signaling the beginning of the end of the nine-year bull market.
So says Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which argues the uptick in volatility is characteristic of a late-cycle environment - the type that normally precedes significant equity losses. The firm has surveyed more than 200 fund managers overseeing $579 billion, of which a record 74% say the global economy is in the latter part of its cycle.
And if there was any doubt that price swings were back in a big way, the past few trading sessions have put that to rest. The benchmark S&P 500 moved more than 2% for three straight days- two down, and one up - through Monday, the longest such streak since August 2015. Then, on Tuesday, the index dropped more than 1.7%, erasing much of the progress made to start the week.
Today the S&P 500 is up 0.3%, but that doesn't tell the whole story, with Amazon, Tesla and Netflix down sharply. Here's the latest:
- Hedge funds' favorite stocks are having a brutal month
- Trump wants to go after Amazon
- Amazon is fighting back after the White House says it has no immediate plans for policy changes
- Netflix is tumbling as tech stocks continue to get smoked
- Tesla is getting slammed following its downgrade at Moody's
- Apple slips after analysts slash iPhone sales forecasts
- JPMORGAN: Twitter concerns are "overdone"
- MORGAN STANLEY: Nvidia's self-driving selloff is "an overreaction"
- The choppy trading that's rocking stocks is an ominous sign for the future of the bull market
In finance news, there's been a big shakeup in UBS' giant wealth management business. And top investors were asked to rate Wall Street's CEOs - here's how Jamie Dimon, Lloyd Blankfein and James Gorman stack up.
Lastly, US economic growth was revised higher in the 4th quarter on stronger consumer spending.