The Nasdaq jumped to an all-time high on Monday, supported by tech-related stocks as interest rates remain low, while investors awaited data on the U.S. labor market due on Friday.
Big tech companies including Microsoft Corp MSFT.O, Apple Inc AAPL.O, Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O, and Nvidia Corp NVDA.O were among the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
In contrast, cyclical sectors dropped sharply amid fears over a spike in COVID-19 cases across Asia. Financials.SPSY, energy.SPNY and airlines.SPCOMAIR fell between 0.9% and 3.3%. All major S&P sectors fell, except technology.SPLRCT and utilities. SPLRCU gained 0.9% and 0.67%.
“It’s the end of the quarter and investors may want to take some profits and rotate out of energy and stick with tech, which has been the winner,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit a series of record highs last week. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 5% gain in June is outpacing its peers as investors pile back into tech-oriented growth stocks on diminishing worries about runaway inflation.
“There’s more Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) than the fear of losing money here right now and tech stocks have a lot of FOMO,” said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC.
With the S&P 500 up almost 14% as the first half of 2021 draws to a close, activity in some areas of the market indicates concern over potential volatility, with some investors suggesting the market may be overdue for a significant pullback.
By 1:50 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 190.08 points, or 0.55%, at 34,243.76, the S&P 500. SPX lost 0.61 point, or 0.01%, to 4,280.09 and the Nasdaq Composite. IXIC added 86.23 points, or 0.6%, to 14,446.61.
On the economic front, investor attention will be focused on consumer confidence data, a private jobs report, and a crucial monthly employment report due later this week. Quarterly results from Micron Technology Inc MU.O and Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA.O are also slated for this week.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.31-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 28 new lows.
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