Wall Street Close: Best week since November for the Dow amid stimulus, reopening optimism
|- The S&P 500 and Dow both hit record closing highs for a second session, having recovered from a pre-market sell-off.
- The Nasdaq 100 was unable to recover into the green as rising long-term interest rates weighed.
- Strong US data, reopening/pandemic optimism and fiscal stimulus optimism all helped support risk appetite.
In the end it was a mixed day on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 closing the session up 0.1% in the 3940s at another record closing high (though the index failed to hit a fresh intra-day all-time high). The Dow performed even better, rallying 0.9% and also closing at record levels, but the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.9%. On the week, the S&P 500 closed with gains of 2.6%, the Dow finished up more than 4% (it’s best week since November), while the Nasdaq 100 gained 2.1%.
In terms of sectoral performance; as noted, Big Tech suffered which dragged the S&P 500 Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary GICS sectors lower (down 0.9% and 0.7% respectively). Semiconductor makers also performed poorly, dropping nearly 1.1%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Real Estate, Industrials and Utilities sectors performed the best (gaining 1.5%, 1.3% and 1.3% respectively).
Driving the day
The major indices started the session in the red, with equity index futures having sold off in pre-market trade amid surging US government bond yields. While higher long-term borrowing costs continued to weigh on Big Tech names, growth stocks and other high price-to-earnings ratio names, eventually sentiment in the rest of the market turned positive amid a combination of 1) strong US data (the preliminary March Michigan Consumer survey was a big beat on expectations) 2) pandemic optimism (US President Joe Biden set the target of 4 July being the USA’s “independence day from Covid-19”) and 3) US fiscals stimulus optimism (after US President Joe Biden signed his $1.9T “rescue” package into law on Thursday).
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.