Stocks lost ground on Monday as investors took profits after last week’s gains. The drop came ahead of a busy week that includes the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and a deluge of high-profile earnings reports. The Nasdaq led the retreat, falling by about 2%.
The decline included an appearance of profit-taking in the electric vehicle sector. Price cuts by Ford ( F ) boosted sales across the sector. That includes slides at GM ( GM ), Tesla ( TSLA ), Fisker ( FSR ) and Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ).
Chinese shares also fell a step lower. Alibaba (BABA) ranked among the decliners, falling on reports that the company may consider moving its headquarters out of China.
Among individual stocks, Glacier Bancorp ( GBCI ) extended recent declines, fueled by a weaker-than-expected earnings report last week. As the decline continued, the stock hit a new 52-week low.
On the other side of the ledger, Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) are up nearly 30%, building on a recent rally that saw the stock more than double in value since the end of last year.
Sector in focus
The news that Ford ( F ) has decided to cut the price of its Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle has fueled a wave of profit-taking in the EV sector. That came as Morgan Stanley worried that previous price cuts from Tesla ( TSLA ) had sparked a “Hunger Games”-style price war in the sector.
TSLA fell 6%, snapping a six-session winning streak that included gains of around 11% on Thursday and Friday. F fell 3%, while GM ( GM ) retreated more than 4%.
Elsewhere in the sector, Fisker (FSR) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN) each fell more than 9%.
Outstanding Gainer
Carvana (CVNA) posted another day of significant gains, building on the rally that has marked most of 2023 so far, as shares of the online auto retailer recouped some of the big losses seen last year.
Shares ended up nearly 29% after unusual volatility prompted a halt earlier in the day. That added to the nearly 20% gain seen on Friday. Overall, the stock has more than doubled in value so far in 2023, climbing 116%.
CVNA rebounded from a 52-week low of $3.55. Still, shares have remained down nearly 94% over the past year, with shares now worth a fraction of their 52-week high of $167.
Standout Decliner
Alibaba ( BABA ) fell amid a flurry of profit-taking among Chinese stocks. The drop also came amid reports that the company may move its headquarters to Singapore. Shares fell more than 6% during the session.
According to Barron’s, a new campus being built in Singapore could be large enough to provide headquarters for the e-commerce giant. This could allow the company to relocate from its home country of China.
BABA’s decline came amid an overall decline in Chinese stocks. Pinduoduo (PDD) was among the worst performers of the group, retreating around 7%. JD.com ( JD ) and Weibo ( WB ) fell nearly 6%, while NetEase ( NTES ) fell more than 2%.
As for BABA, the stock fell $7.18 to $111.20. Last week, the stock hit its highest target since July after jumping 86% since the first half of November.
Significant new low
Glacier Bancorp ( GBCI ) continued the decline that marked the end of last week, when the company posted disappointing quarterly results. Shares fell another 2% on Monday, hitting a new 52-week low.
The GBCI tried to recover early in the session, briefly moving into positive territory in the first hour of trading. However, shares fell again mid-morning and eventually touched a 52-week intraday low of $44.38. After a brief rally before the close, the stock ended at $44.49, down 92 cents on the day.
This represented the third consecutive day of decline. Last Thursday, the company reported earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations.
Shares are down about 5% in the past week and more than 9% so far in 2023.
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