Nasdaq turns negative Wednesday as yields climb in 2021’s final days, but Dow hovers in record territory – MarketWatch
U.S. stocks lost altitude mid-morning Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index turning negative as Treasury yields climbed toward one-month highs. However, the Dow industrials were holding on to a small gain after punching into record-close territory near the session’s opening trade.
The omicron variant of COVID continues to serve as a focus for investors, but the new strain has yet to significantly impede the market’s recent uptrend, even as the World Health Organization on Wednesday reported that the number of COVID-19 cases recorded world-wide increased by 11% last week compared with the previous week, led by the Americas.
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How are stock indexes trading?
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.12%
was trading 74 points, or 0.2%, higher at 36,472, climbing above its Nov. 8 record close at 36,432.22. -
The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.00%
was trading less than a point, or 0.1%, lower at 4,784. -
The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-0.29%
was trading 75 points, or 0.5%, lower at 15,706, after hitting an intraday high at 15,821.81.
On Tuesday, the Dow rose 95.83 points, or 0.3%, to end at 36,398.21, its second-highest close ever, marking a fifth straight advance for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 slipped 4.84 points, or 0.1%, to close at 4,786.35, a day after closing at a record. The Nasdaq Composite fell 89.54 points, or 0.6%, to finish at 15,781.72.
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What’s driving the market?
U.S. stock benchmarks lost some ground Wednesday, but the Dow retained its grip on record-close territory, as investors struggle to find fresh incentives to push the rally substantially higher in the final days of 2021, with investors having mostly shaken off fears about COVID-19.
The interest-rate sensitive Nasdaq Composite turned south early in Wednesday’s trade as the yield for the 10-year Treasury rose to its highest level in about a month at 1.52%.
Wall Street is wagering that the economic recovery that took hold at the start of the year and strong earnings from U.S. corporations will continue to underpin buying into 2022, at least for the first few months.
Rising case counts of COVID are being overshadowed, at this point, by preliminary research that suggests that the omicron variant of COVID results in mild symptoms and is pushing …….