Final hours! Save up to 55% OFF InvestingProCLAIM SALE

Dow, S&P 500 edge higher; stimulus in focus

Published 02/09/2021, 07:19 AM
Updated 02/09/2021, 03:00 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York
US500
-
DJI
-
CSCO
-
SPY
-
AAPL
-
MAT
-
NFLX
-
TSLA
-
TTWO
-
IXIC
-
RIOT
-
COTY
-
BTC/USD
-

By Herbert Lash

(Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 were little changed on Tuesday after a six-day winning streak as investors rotated out of large-cap tech names into other sectors that likely will benefit from President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq hit an all-time high for the fifth consecutive session on early gains in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc, which later turned lower amid a shift in portfolio allocations.

The NYSE FANG+TM index, which includes Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Tesla, rose 1.4% to an all-time high.

With the number of COVID-19 cases declining and expectations the stimulus package with be approved in Congress, investors are hard-pressed to find significant negatives, said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

"You're not seeing money coming out of the market and going into cash," James said. "You're seeing money coming out of one sector and being rotated into another sector to maintain an overall long bias."

At 2:46PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.07 points, or 0.12%, to 31,423.83, the S&P 500 gained 1.31 points, or 0.03%, to 3,916.9 and the Nasdaq Composite added 36.77 points, or 0.26%, to 14,024.41.

Largely upbeat corporate earnings, along with monetary and fiscal support, have powered the major U.S. stock indexes to record highs. But analysts caution against risks from new coronavirus variants and any glitches in vaccine rollouts.

"The backdrop is largely positive for stocks and I'm not sure there could be a better backdrop for risk assets in the near to intermediate term," said William Herrmann, co-founder and managing partner at Wilshire Phoenix in New York City.

The energy sector, among those that led the recent rally, shed nearly 1.0%, while communication services added about 0.4%.

Data last week showing slower-than-expected jobs growth in the labor market underscored the need for more government aid to blunt the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden has said.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate continue to try to find a way to include a minimum wage increase in a comprehensive COVID-19 relief bill they aim to advance in the coming weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday. [nW1N2K1005]

The banking index shed about 0.3%, tracking a fall in U.S. Treasury yields. [US/]

Toymaker Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) rose about 2.1%, while telephone equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) slipped 0.6% ahead of reporting earnings after market close.

Analysts forecast a fourth-quarter S&P earnings gain of about 2.5%, a stark reversal from the 10.3% annual decline seen at the beginning of the year, per Refinitiv.

Gucci lipstick maker Coty (NYSE:COTY) Inc tumbled 16% as weak demand for makeup products wiped millions off its quarterly revenue.

Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) Interactive Software Inc fell about 6% after the videogame publisher posted a drop in quarterly adjusted sales and shied away from announcing any new big releases.

Bitcoin fast approached the $50,000-mark as the afterglow of Elon Musk-led Tesla's (O:TSLA) investment in the cryptocurrency had investors reckoning it may become a mainstream asset class for both corporations and money managers.

Cryptocurrency miner Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) and Marathon Patent Group jumped 25% and 22%, extending their sharp gains for the second day. Tesla's shares dropped about 2.2%.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.50-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, (NYSE) in New York

The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 400 new highs and six new lows.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.