By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Nasdaq closed at record highs Monday, on Apple-led strength in technology ahead of a busy week of market-moving earnings from big tech.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12%, or 37 points, though had been down more than 300 points intraday. The S&P 500 was up 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.69%.
Tech, meanwhile, kept the downside in the broader market in check as the Fab 5 traded mostly positive ahead of a big week. Microsoft reports earnings on Tuesday after the closing bell, while Apple, Facebook and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are set to report earnings on Wednesday.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) ended the day higher.
The renewed strength in tech comes as investor appetite for cyclicals run of steam somewhat amid concerns over prolonged path for further stimulus and the threat of further Covid-19 restrictions.
Energy was the biggest cyclical sector in the red, weighed down by weaker oil prices amid ongoing worries over pandemic-fueled weakness in crude.
National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) were down sharply, with the latter down about 5%.
Financials were dragged lower by a decline in bank stocks, which continued their post-earnings weakness as global growth concerns surfaced amid rising restrictions.
Biden is expected to sign a travel ban Monday on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who were recently in South Africa, and on non-U.S. citizens from the U.K. and Brazil, in a bid to prevent the new virus strains identified in those countries from becoming prevalent in this country.
Airlines also fell sharply as growing restrictions will likely prolong the recovery in global travel demand. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) fell more than 2%, while United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) slipped 4%.
The fading prospect of a quick roll out of further stimulus has dimmed amid Republican opposition. Democrats are unlikely to get the 10 Republican votes needed to advance Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan.
“We believe the size of this bill would likely prove challenging to garner bipartisan support. The provision of increasing the minimum wage to $15 is already facing resistance from the Republicans. We anticipate that the Biden administration may divide the bill into separate packages,” Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said in a note.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday he aims to secure passage of the next round of Covid-19 relief by mid-March.
In other news, GameStop (NYSE:GME) closed up 18%, paring some of its 120% intraday surge, as the short-squeeze continues. AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) rallied 25% after it clinched a new financing deal that eased its liquidity woes, allowing the movie theatre operator to continue without filing for bankruptcy.