by Nov 21 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indices started the week roughly lower on China, which said it faces the worst test of the coronavirus pandemic but pared losses after the Federal Reserve Chair of San Francisco’s Mary Daly commented that officials would have to be careful to avoid a “painful downturn”.
With markets pricing in a monetary policy environment well in excess of what the Fed has imposed on the economy so far, Daly said on Monday: “It will be important to address this gap between interest rates and financial market tightening.” staying conscious. Ignoring this increases the likelihood of tightening too much.”
As of 2:20 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 37.97 points, or 0.11%, to 33,783.66, and the S&P 500 (.SPX) was down 8.85 points, or 0.22%, to 3,956 .49 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) fell 102.38 points, or 0.92%, to 11,043.68.
Beijing said Monday it would close shops and schools in hard-hit districts and tighten rules for entering the city as infections tick higher and spook investors. Continue reading
“There is concern that China could reintroduce some of the COVID restrictions that they say they have just begun to lift,” said Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer at BMO Family Office. “That’s part of what’s driving tech stocks down because we rely so heavily on China and Taiwan for critical components.”
US casino operators with operations in China, including Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O), Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS.N), MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, slid between 2.5395% and 7.6043% down.
Travel stocks including American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH.N) fell % and 1.2%, respectively.
The S&P 500 (.SPNY) energy sector index fell nearly 3% on Monday to its lowest level in four weeks, as oil prices plunged more than 5% after reports that Saudi Arabia and other OPEC oil producers were discussing increasing production . However, the index pared losses after Saudi Arabia denied talks about it.
Energy was the only large sector in the S&P 500 to expect gains for the year, gaining around 63%.
Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) rose 5.7898% after Bob Iger returned to the entertainment giant as chief executive.
The S&P 500 extended its decline from the previous week, as several Federal Reserve officials reiterated the central bank’s pledge to hike interest rates until inflation is under control, as investors now await the release of minutes from the Fed’s November meeting wait Wednesday.
Traders are widely betting for a 50 basis point hike in the December session with rates expected to peak in June.
Among other stocks, Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shed -6.6374% after the electric carmaker announced it would recall vehicles in the United States over an issue that could cause taillights to intermittently not illuminate.
Gay dating app Grindr (GRND.N) plunged amid broader market weakness after skyrocketing on its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in the previous session.
Trading volume is likely to be light this week as markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and open for half a day on Friday.
Declining issuance dominated on the NYSE at a 1.26 to 1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 1.57-to-1 ratio favored losers.
The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite posted 76 new highs and 194 new lows.
Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Shubham Batra and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Edited by Arun Koyyur, Shounak Dasgupta and Grant McCool
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