Netflix Inc., the video-streaming service which isn’t offered in China, fell 6.7%, underperforming the broader market. The fact that stocks seemingly unconnected to China’s growing pains can fall in response demonstrates the level of anxiety out there, and how many other stocks could reverse last year’s gains. Amazon.com Inc. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. were both down more than 4% on Monday.
… The debt markets tend to flash signs of economic concern before stocks, and that is just how bond traders ended the year. The largest high-yield bond exchange-traded fund, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, dropped 10% in 2015 as junk bonds marked their worst performance since 2008. Equity traders are finally taking notice.
… The CBOE Volatility Index, which tends to climb as investors become more fearful about a drop in stocks, topped 20 on Monday, a rise of 11%. Investors are finding cause for concern coming out of the first year of losses for the S&P 500 index in four. A few of the clouds sitting over the market: the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade last month, public offerings of new stocks slowed to a trickle, and tech companies are continuing to command eye-popping valuations.