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NEW YORK: The Nasdaq climbed to a record high on Monday after investors moved into mega-cap growth stocks even as a new round of COVID-19 restrictions underscored the economic impact of the pandemic.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.4%, as several of its largest constituents, including Apple, up 1.56% and Facebook Inc, up 2.05%, advanced. Still, a decline in names such as Alphabet and Microsoft kept major averages in check.
Large cap growth stocks which had underperformed value stock names in recent weeks as investors looked to names likely to benefit from a reopened economy, edged up 0.21% while value fell 0.80%.
Authorities in California, the most populous state in the country, on Monday compelled much of the state to close shop and stay at home the day after it reported a record 30,000-plus new coronavirus cases.
“Value needed a rest so you are getting a little of that today,” said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in San Francisco.
“It’s been a big move, the vaccine is clearly going to be beneficial but there is going to be some pause and wait here,” he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 209.4 points, or 0.69%, to 30,008.86, the S&P 500 lost 14.6 points, or 0.39%, to 3,684.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 36.96 points, or 0.3%, to 12,501.19.
Weighing heavily on value names were energy stocks, as the S&P 500 energy index fell 0.21%, the worst performing among the 11 major sectors as oil prices slipped. The sector has been the best performer this quarter, climbing nearly 30%.
Wall Street tracked a more cautious move in global stocks earlier in the day after Washington imposed financial sanctions and a travel ban on some Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong last month.
But with President-elect Joe Biden due to take office on Jan. 20, analysts expect the focus to largely remain on his approach to relations with China, and less on measures adopted in the waning days of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, investors are closely tracking developments on the passage of a long-awaited coronavirus relief bill, after months of deadlocked negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.
The U.S. Congress is likely to consider a one-week stopgap funding bill to provide more time for lawmakers to reach agreements in talks aimed at delivering COVID-19 relief and an overarching spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, Democratic aides said on Monday.
Promising vaccine updates from major drugmakers have raised investor hopes for an economic recovery next year and eased worries over a surge in U.S. infections, powering Wall Street’s main indexes to record highs recently.
Intel Corp fell 3.99% and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 after Bloomberg News reported Apple Inc was planning a series of new Mac processors for introduction as early as 2021 that are aimed at outperforming Intel’s fastest processors.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 238 new highs and 7 new lows.
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