{"id":145236,"date":"2021-11-19T18:29:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T18:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=145236"},"modified":"2021-11-19T18:29:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T18:29:08","slug":"covid-fears-weigh-on-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-hits-record-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/business\/covid-fears-weigh-on-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-hits-record-high\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID fears weigh on Dow, S&P 500; Nasdaq hits record high"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) -The Dow Jones fell and the S&P 500 was flat on Friday as fears of new lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Europe hammered banking, energy and airline stocks, while strength in technology stocks pushed the Nasdaq to a record high.<\/p> A resurgence in COVID-19 cases saw Austria outline plans for a full lockdown, and fears that Germany could follow suit rattled stock markets globally.<\/p>\n Banking stocks fell about 1.7%, tracking a drop in Treasury yields as investors snapped up safe-haven bonds. [US\/]Financials was among the worst-performing S&P sectors, down 1.1%.<\/p>\n Carriers including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines, and cruiseliners Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Corp fell between 0.9% and 1.8%.<\/p>\n Major oil firms dropped as crude prices fell on renewed concerns over European demand, making the S&P energy sector the worst performer among its peers with a 3.7% loss. [O\/R]<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a normal time to take risk off. And in this case, there\u2019s just so much liquidity that the market doesn\u2019t go down – just people take risk off by going into safe havens,\u201d said Jay Hatfield, chief executive of Infrastructure Capital Management in New York.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, COVID-19 is kind of a headline of the day. Every trade in the market right now is being driven by COVID.\u201d<\/p>\n Falling yields and safe-haven demand supported major technology stocks, which in turn lifted the Nasdaq.<\/p>\n Tech stocks are usually sensitive to yields, given that investors weigh future earnings in the sector against returns on debt.<\/p>\n FAANG stocks, which have largely persevered through economic shocks since 2020, rose between 0.3% and 3.9%. Netflix gained along with other stay-at-home stocks.<\/p>\n IPhone maker Apple Inc hit a record high as investors priced in strong Black Friday sales next week.<\/p>\n Chipmaker Nvidia rose 3.1% in heavy trade after posting strong quarterly results late Wednesday. The Philadelphia semiconductor index also hit a record high.<\/p>\n At 11:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 167.60 points, or 0.47%, at 35,703.35 and the S&P 500 was up 5.66 points, or 0.12%, at 4,710.20. The Nasdaq Composite was up 115.89 points, or 0.72%, at 16,109.60.<\/p>\n The S&P consumer discretionary sector hit a record high, following strong retail earnings this week and positive indicators for holiday shopping.<\/p>\n But inflation fears also persisted in markets after recent comments from Federal Reserve officials suggested that price pressures were becoming more broad-based.<\/p>\n President Joe Biden\u2019s $1.75 trillion bill to bolster the social safety net and fight climate change passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, sending it to the Senate where negotiations will continue.<\/p>\n Among other stocks, Intuit Inc jumped 10.1% as brokerages lifted their price targets on the income tax software company after it beat quarterly estimates and raised forecast.<\/p>\n Applied Materials Inc dropped 2.9% after the chipmaker forecast first-quarter sales and profit below market estimates on supply chain woes.<\/p>\n Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.<\/p>\n The S&P index recorded 39 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 74 new highs and 227 new lows.<\/p>\n