Nasdaq, S&P 500 fall for third straight week

Wall Street suffered its first three-week drop in almost a year as investors continued to cut back on high-flying tech stocks responsible for the quick rebound out of the pandemic bear market.

The Dow gave up 244 points on Friday. The S&P 500 shed 37 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq continued to get hammered – falling 116 points.

Investors were also spooked as several European countries announced new restrictions aimed at slowing a spike in new novel coronavirus cases and as Britain reportedly considers another national lockdown.

Investors are less confident than they were about a month ago, says Ken Kamen of Mercadien Asset Management.

“I think renewed concern that the coronavirus vaccine might not be as close as people thought is weighing on the market and the fact that tech stocks have been on such a tear for the last couple of months that they're taking a breather here. And I think it's logical and I think people should actually be applauding that they're taking a little bit of a breather. And I wouldn't get too concerned about that. I think you need to look past that and recognize over the last few months they are very, very strong and a little bit of a blow off is probably a healthy thing.”

Tesla was a standout to the upside amid tech’s turmoil. Anticipation is riding high ahead of the electric car maker’s “Battery Day” to be held next week. Shares of Tesla rallied more than 6 percent.