Wall Street Suffers Holiday Setback as Key Benchmarks Drop

Wall Street faced a broad sell-off on Friday, bringing an end to the festive rally and resulting in declines across major benchmarks. The Dow Jones dipped 0.77%, S&P 500 lost 1.11%, and Nasdaq fell 1.49%. Rising Treasury yields affected growth stocks, while some stocks defied the trend with gains.

Wall Street faced a sudden reversal of fortunes on Friday as a widespread sell-off put a dampener on the holiday cheer. The significant decline halted the Dow Jones Industrial Average's win streak that followed its worst losing spell since 1974. This broad-based retreat affected even the tech and growth stocks that had previously driven market gains.

The Dow plummeted by 333.59 points, or 0.77%, settling at 42,992.21. Similarly, the S&P 500 witnessed a loss of 66.75 points (1.11%), closing at 5,970.84, while the Nasdaq Composite nose-dived by 298.33 points (1.49%) to end at 19,722.03. Experts pointed out that profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing could be responsible for Friday's market movements.

The spiking U.S. Treasury yields, reaching over seven-month highs, have contributed to higher borrowing costs, affecting prominent tech companies dubbed the 'Magnificent Seven'. Among these, Tesla led the declines with a 5% drop, casting a shadow over what could have been a seasonal Santa Claus rally. However, despite the turmoil, all three indices closed the week with gains.

(With inputs from agencies.)