Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Nasdaq Hits Record High as Investors Bet on Big Tech to Weather Covid-19 Storm

Published 2020-07-09, 04:00 p/m
Updated 2020-07-09, 04:05 p/m

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The Nasdaq closed at a record high for the second straight day Thursday as investors continued to seek refuge in megacap tech stocks at a time when the spread of the coronavirus threatens a V shape recovery.  

The S&P 500 lost 0.52%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.63% to close at record hghs, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.38%.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), the so-called Fab 5, which collectively make up about 40% of the Nasdaq, ended higher to help keep broader market losses in check.

Beyond tech, however, investors had to contend with losses in stocks tied to the progress of the economy amid rising Covid cases.

Total cases rose to about 3.05 million from 2.98 million yesterday, with the death toll rising to deaths 991 from 932, according to the Center for Disease Control. 

As the outbreak continues to hit key hotspots including Texas, Florida and California, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said states should opt to pause reopening measures rather than revert to a complete shut down.

"Rather than think in terms of reverting back down to a complete shutdown, I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process," Fauci said.

But that did little quash investor jitters of looming shutdowns that threatened to undo the economic progress seen recently.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims decreased by about 100,000 to 1.31 million in the week ended July 3, beating forecasts for a decline to 1.3 million.

Continuing claims fell 698,000 to 18.06 million, extending a trend of downside momentum that is "encouraging," Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) said. "Continuing claims are down 2.5 million over the past 4 weeks."

Energy led the selloff, paced by a decline oil prices as the pause of reopening measures in pockets of the U.S. offset signs of a recovery in gasoline demand seen a day earlier.

Financials were not far behind, falling 2% just days ahead of quarterly results from banks. The second-quarter earnings reports for a slew of Wall Street banks are likely to underscore a rough quarter amid rising loan loss provisions and weaker profit from lending activity weighed down by near-zero interest rates.

Elsewhere, AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) rallied as rumors swirled the company had hired Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to explore a sale.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.