The Nasdaq Composite recently surpassed 20,000 points, doubling in under five years. However, excitement faded as the index gained only 0.3%, closing at 19,927 points. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, while the Dow Jones dropped 1.8%, marking a seven-day decline. Nasdaq's rise was fueled by tech giants like Tesla and Alphabet, masking broader market weaknesses. Non-tech sectors faced slow but steady sell-offs, with more S&P 500 stocks declining than rising over ten days, a record since 2000.
Value stocks, like those in the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF, fell for ten days, down 4% in two weeks, highlighting the dominance of expensive stocks. Despite challenges, value investor Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio)'s Oakmark fund gained 20%, led by General Motors (GM, Financial), up 46% this year.
