Plunging technology stocks weighed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Wednesday morning. Negative virus headlines added fuel to the fire.
The trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange reopened Tuesday. After a strong post-holiday rally, U.S. stocks are struggling Wednesday. | Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP
U.S. stocks turned negative Wednesday morning, weighed down by plunging technology shares and negative virus headlines.
The large-cap S&P 500 Index reached an intraday high of 3,021.72 before pulling back sharply mid-morning. It bottomed at 2,969.75 for a decline of 1.7% from its intraday peak.
Losses are concentrated in five of 11 primary sectors, with information technology leading the declines. Health care, communication services, and discretionary shares also fell sharply.
The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index declined by as much as 2.1% before paring losses. It was last down 1.6%.
Surging bank shares helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average buck the downtrend. The industrials benchmark rallied by as much as 360 points.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are being weighed down by volatile technology shares, with all five FAANG constituents reporting declines.
As CNBC reports, shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are all down at least 0.5%.
The S&P 500 briefly eclipsed 3,000 on Wednesday, a significant psychological and technical milestone for investors. The 3,000 level represents the index’s average price over the past 200 days.
Stocks have rebounded more than 30% from their March lows, but not everyone believes the rally can last. Analysts at JPMorgan have warned investors to brace for a significant pullback heading into the summer due to the lingering effect of government lockdown orders.
Although the U.S. economy is entering a recession, some analysts believe a “depression” is less likely:
The U.S. economy showed tentative signs of recovery midway through the second quarter, but surging unemployment claims suggest a deep recession is all but inevitable.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor is expected to show another 2.1 million jobless claims for the week ending May 23, bringing the ten-week total to over 40 million.
Last modified: September 23, 2020 1:58 PM
By using CCN.com you consent to our
privacy & cookie policy.