Trading on Wall Street got off to a poor start with investors’ focus on rising Covid-19 case numbers around the world and the toll they might take on attempts to reopen economies.
As of 1544 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was down by 2.12% or 732.53 points to 33,958.61, alongside a 1.66% or 71.70 point drop for the S&P 500 to 4,256.24 while the Nasdaq Composite was retreating by 1.29% or 187.91 points to 14,240.20.
But not all analysts were despairing, with Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, telling clients: “For context, given how inclined markets are in this day and age to schizophrenically change direction and sentiment on a 24-hour rolling basis, US equities remain near all-time highs, so let’s all just calm down a bit.
“Even a ten per cent pullback would change the underlying trend, and the Fed has your back.”
Having in many cases been spared the worst of the first waves of the pandemic, several Asian countries including Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and Singapore were now battling outbreaks and imposing restrictions.
Meanwhile, cases in the US and UK, as on much of the continent, were continuing to climb.
Halley also noted the failure of an article in the Wall Street Journal, penned by US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, criticising the US-China trade deal “had failed to lift the malaise” in markets.
Also dampening the mood was a 6.2% slump in front-dated West Texas crude oil futures to $67.35 a barrel.
Contributing to the selling in oil, at the weekend, OPEC+ countries agreed to up their combined output by 400,000 barrels a day from August.
In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down by 10 basis points to just under 1.20%.
On the economic front, the National Association of Homebuilders Housing Market Index dipped from a reading of 81.0 for June to 80.0 in July (consensus: 81.0) – an 11-month low.
Dow Jones – Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $141.18 0.47%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $141.74 0.13%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $247.30 -0.27%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $166.85 -0.74%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $77.42 -0.77%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $45.63 -0.85%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $55.94 -0.93%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $54.45 -0.95%
Dow Jones – Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $206.32 -5.24%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.41 -4.33%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $350.42 -3.94%
American Express Co. (AXP) $163.59 -3.78%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $200.70 -3.49%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $173.19 -3.41%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $95.27 -3.40%
Visa Inc. (V) $239.78 -3.36%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $146.85 -3.33%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $141.88 -3.08%
S&P 500 – Risers
Kroger Co. (KR) $40.62 3.20%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $191.58 2.82%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $746.67 2.78%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $35.52 1.89%
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $136.97 1.82%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $88.77 1.65%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $472.26 1.46%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $135.04 1.46%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $46.12 1.30%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $140.27 1.26%
S&P 500 – Fallers
Macerich Co (MAC) $15.39 -8.31%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $174.32 -7.77%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $115.08 -7.57%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $24.05 -7.29%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $19.44 -7.05%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $42.78 -7.02%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.42 -6.90%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.55 -6.87%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $67.55 -6.69%
Macy’s Inc. (M) $15.82 -6.58%
Nasdaq 100 – Risers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $746.67 2.78%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $472.26 1.46%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $415.22 1.18%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $78.98 0.83%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $144.04 0.66%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $122.81 0.51%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $26.11 0.40%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $64.44 0.28%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $69.70 0.23%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $711.27 0.18%
Nasdaq 100 – Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.42 -6.90%
Marriott International – Class A (MAR) $127.99 -5.23%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $28.86 -4.50%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.64 -3.99%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $106.84 -3.92%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $100.63 -3.89%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $151.52 -3.86%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $172.90 -3.72%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $319.98 -3.66%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $115.15 -3.63%
