Another day of market lows as the S&P 500 shed 2.5% and entered correction territory on volatile trading.
On a somewhat surprising note, the headlines were dominated more by losses in the tech sector than problems posed by low oil prices. Though, to be sure, performance in some of the hard hit oil and gas names continued to be poor.
Williams Companies (WMB), the Oklahoma-based natural gas processor and transporter was the weakest performer in the S&P 500 as its stock fell 17.71%. It was joined in its decline by fellow Oklahoma-based company, Chesapeake Energy (CHK), whose shares dropped 10.12%.
Meanwhile, in the tech sector, Netflix (NFLX) was one of the S&P 500's greater laggards on Wednesday as its stock declined 8.59%. Some of the downward movement was attributed to bearish comments Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities made in an article in The New York Times. Pachter said that eventually media giants will start charging Netlfix more for licensing deals and that the company will have a hard time raising subscription prices as its competitors get stronger.
Elsewhere in tech, shares of Twitter (TWTR) continued to reach new lows, falling 4.79% to $18.68, while GoPro (GPRO) announced that it was cutting 7% of its workforce after lowering its estimated revenue for the fourth quarter. Shares of GoPro closed flat on Wednesday, but were down about 20% in after-hours trading.
The one surprising bright spot in Wednesday's trading came from Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) as shares of the company closed up 5.94%. Chipotle's co-CEO Steven Ells spoke on Wednesday at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Fla. He said the company was taking measures to reduce the risks of being hit by another outbreak, such as the e.coli crisis that rocked burrito chain at the end of the year. Even so, CFO Jack Hartung warned that 2016 would be a volatile year.
As for what's coming up, tonight's Powerball drawing could produce the first billionaire lottery winner -- at least before Uncle Sam steps in. Also, Real Money will be keeping an eye on JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which will be reporting earnings tomorrow morning and will be the first of the big banks to do so.
