Dow falls more than 200 points as coronavirus cases continue to rise, tech shares lift Nasdaq
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell on Tuesday as concerns about the rising number of coronavirus cases dented investor sentiment once again.
The 30-stock Dow slid 222.19 points, or 0.8%, to close at 27,463.19. Caterpillar and Boeing were the biggest laggards in the Dow, falling 3.2% and 3.5%, respectively. The S&P 500 pulled back by 0.3% to end the day at 3,390.68, marking its first close below 3,400 since Oct. 6. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the negative trend, rising 0.6% to 11,431.35 as tech shares gained broadly.
Traders increased positions in names that benefit from people staying at home and trimmed holdings in stocks dependent on the economy reopening. Online retailers Shopify and Amazon rose 4.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Zoom Video gained 4.1%. Microsoft advanced 1.5%. Meanwhile, American Airlines dropped 4.8% while United and Delta both slid more than 3%.
Wall Street was coming off a tough session, with the Dow posting its biggest one-day drop since early September. The decline was sparked in part by the rising number of coronavirus cases and an inability by lawmakers to push forward on new fiscal stimulus. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, further diminishing the prospects of a deal being reached before the election.
Investors are also bracing for a potentially contested election result, which could lead to volatile trading in the markets.
“The biggest risk appears to be the threat of a contested election and the country not knowing the winner of the Presidential election next Tuesday night,” Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network, told CNBC.” I think that investors are taking some chips off the table or increasing their hedging positions in advance of what could be a tenuous period for risk assets.”
Caterpillar reports a 54% drop in earnings in the third quarter amid lower equipment demand
Dow futures fall more than 100 points as Wall Street grapples with rising Covid-19 cases, earnings
U.S. stock futures fell on Tuesday night following a mixed session in which traders weighed a recent uptick in coronavirus infections.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 118 points lower, or 0.4%. S&P 500 slid 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.4%.
Reference: CNBC
Thai
Eng