Amazon turns negative for 2021 as higher yields adds to pressure

Amazon.com Inc. shares fell sharply on Monday, taking the e-commerce giant into negative territory for the year, as a sustained rise in Treasury yields is hurting the earnings outlook for companies with high valuations. 

Amazon shares fell as much as 2.5% on Monday and were on track for a sixth straight negative session, the longest such streak for Amazon since an eight-day drop that ended in August 2019. With the decline, the stock is now down 1.4% for 2021, making it the only one of Wall Street’s five largest names to be negative for the year. 

The day’s weakness was widespread, as the rise in Treasury yields also pushed investors out of tech and other high-growth areas of the market. 

Among other mega-cap stocks, Apple Inc. fell 1.6%, Microsoft Corp. dropped 1.9%, Alphabet Inc. sank 2.8%, and Facebook Inc. was down 3.5%. Despite the declines, however, the others all remain in positive territory for the year, with gains ranging from Apple’s nearly 6% advance to Alphabet’s surge of more than 50%.

 

The losses in market value for the companies listed in the closely watched NYFANG+ index -- which includes 10 highly liquid tech and internet stocks -- now have soared to nearly $1 trillion. Tesla Inc. is the only stock in black during that period.

The rise in yields has pressured tech names, as investors calculate that future earnings gains will be less valuable amid higher rates. The 10-year Treasury yield is currently around 1.49%, up from 1.3% on Sept. 22.

“Yields are likely to be biased higher for the time being as the world (and monetary policy) normalizes and inflation proves more durable than hoped,” the research firm Vital Knowledge wrote in a report. While some tech investors view the decline as temporary, “we think this time is different.”