Stocks Experience Jolt Ride On Triple Witching Friday

Barry Adams
21 Jun, 2024
New York City

Stocks and market indexes are for choppy trading ahead as futures and options on stocks and indexes expire Friday. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite edged slightly lower, and widely held stocks are expected to experience an extra jolt of volatility on the so-called "triple witching." 

Artificial intelligence-linked tech stocks faced another day of elevated volatility as ETFs and mutual funds rebalanced holdings ahead of the end of the quarter and the month next week. 

On the economic front, investors are looking ahead to the release of existing home sales data for May, and investors are hoping that the sales will rebound from the 4.2 million annual rate in April. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.3% to 5,505.13, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 17,923.03. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.71%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.23%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged higher to 4.38%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.12 to $81.11 a barrel, and natural gas prices fell 2 cents to $2.70 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $4.32 to $2,365.35 an ounce, and silver declined 32 cents to $30.53. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 105.78.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Asana rose 2.5% to $11.66, and the workflow management software company announced a $150 million stock repurchase program to be completed by June 2025. 

Sarepta Therapeutics soared 33% to $164.98 after the Food and Drug Administration permitted the company's gene therapy against Duchenne muscular dystrophy. 

Nvidia, Apple, and CrowdStrike are likely to face additional volatility as the rebalancing of several indexes takes effect after Friday's trading. 

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF is likely to purchase as much as $10 billion of Nvidia stock as the fund increases its allocation to nearly 21% from the current 5%. 

Moreover, the fund will rebalance its Apple holdings to 5% from the current 21%. 

Nvidia decreased 1.3% to $127.93, and Apple increased 0.5% to $210.65. 

CrowdStrike decreased by 0.3% to $381.02, and the company is set to be included in the S&P 500 index.