In this March 23, 2021 file photo, the Fearless Girl statue stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District. Stocks fell in morning trading Monday, Aug. 16, 2021 amid rising coronavirus infections in the U.S. and around the globe, as well as geopolitical concerns in Asia. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
A choppy day on Wall Street ended Monday with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notching new highs after recovering from an early slide.
The indexes each rose 0.3%, extending their winning streak to a fifth day, while the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. Technology and health care stocks accounted for much of the gain in the S&P 500. Sectors traditionally considered lower risk, including utilities and companies that make food and personal goods also helped lift the market. Those gains outweighed a pullback in banks, energy stocks and a swath of retailers and travel sector companies.
Despite the latest gains, there are signs that investors have turned cautious with the market at all-time highs amid rising coronavirus infections in the U.S. and around the globe due to the highly contagious delta variant.
Traders shifted money into U.S. bonds, which helped drag bond yields lower. Small company stocks fell, knocking the Russell 2000 index 0.9% lower. Nearly twice as many stocks in the New York Stock Exchange fell than rose.
“Delta is ending up being a cascading concern,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “It seems the market really doesn’t want to make a commitment for the intermediate or long term.”
The S&P 500 rose 11.71 points to 4,479.71. The Dow added 110.02 points to 35,625.40. The Nasdaq fell 29.14 points to 14,793.76. The Russell 2000 lost 19.69 points to 2,203.41.
Stocks have been pushing to ever higher records the past couple of weeks even amid choppy trading as investors try to gauge the impact of rising virus cases. Analysts had expected economic growth to slow from its breakneck pace earlier this year, but the highly contagious delta variant has prompted even more caution from investors.
The concerns are being heightened as students head back to school or prepare to head back to school at the end of August. School shutdowns because of the virus could crimp a recovery in the job market if parents have to stay home. A resurgence could also stifle the recovery for many businesses that rely on people leaving their homes to eat, shop and get other services.
Data out of China showed the global coronavirus pandemic continues to hurt economies around the world. Chinese industrial production and retail sales both rose last month, but at a far weaker pace than what economists had expected.
China's economy is suffering from supply chain issues, where manufactured goods that would typically be on their way to foreign markets have either remained unfinished or stuck in shipping containers. The pandemic has made hiring workers harder as well.
The collapse of the Afghanistan government over the weekend was also on investors' minds. While the economy of Afghanistan is small, the country is located in a delicate part of the world, sandwiched between the economic giants of South and East Asia and the oil-rich Middle East.
The price of U.S. crude oil fell 1.7% and weighed down energy companies. Exxon Mobil dropped 1.5% and Chevron closed 1% lower.
Shares in some retailers and tourism-related companies also fell. Caesars Entertainment slid 4% and Gap dropped 3.1%.
Bond yields fell and pulled banks lower. They rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.26% from 1.29% late Friday. Wells Fargo lost 1.9% and Citigroup dropped 1.4%.
Also dampening investors' optimism was the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index from Friday, which fell to 70.2 from its previous level of 81.2 in July. That was the largest drop in sentiment since April 2020, when the pandemic took its initial grip on the country.
The unexpectedly bad reading was almost entirely due to the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, which has caused hospitals to fill up with unvaccinated patients across the U.S.
The markets opened lower on Thursday as investors hold their breath ahead of the May consumer price index, which will give investors a better picture of the state of inflation in the United States. Michele Schneider, a partner and the director of trading research and education for MarketGauge.com, joined Cheddar to discuss. "If the CPI read is softer than what's expected, we actually might get a rally," she said. "If it's more than expected, then I think it will spook the market."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
Pinterest is making a big move as it pushes further into online shopping. The image-focused social media site is acquiring A.I.-powered shopping platform THE YES as it focuses on enhancing the user shopping experience. THE YES's technology gives users a personalized feed of products based on their preferences, and Pinterest is banking on the tech to give it an advantage among other social media apps with built-in shopping features. Julie Bornstein, founder and CEO of THE YES, joins Closing Bell to discuss the company's unique technology, why it agreed to sell to Pinterest, her vision as she takes over shopping initiatives, and more.
Keith Barr, CEO of InterContinental Hotel Group, says he is expecting an 'incredible' summer for his business as pandemic conditions have normalized and people are ready to travel.
Dann Ryan, Chief Investment Officer at Sincerus Advisory, discusses what drove markets lower on Wednesday, as well as what investors are anticipating when it comes to the upcoming CPI report and Fed decision.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A controversial professional golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia tees off on Thursday. Today, two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson announced he's resigned from the PGA Tour ahead of headlining the Saudi-backed tour, called the LIV Golf Invitation Series. The announcement comes as the PGA tour has threatened disciplinary action for its golfers who take part in the Saudi golf league event, which will also feature notable golf stars like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia; however, LIV Golf's CEO, Greg Norman, told The Washington Post that Tiger Woods rejected a contract worth 'high nine digits' to play in the tour. Chris Bumbaca, reporter for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
