Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York City, NY, U.S. November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened higher on Tuesday, helped by a recovery in tech stocks, while the Dow Jones Industrial average fell after rising for six straight days.
The S&P technology sector, which had fallen about 3% since the election, rose 1.07%.
Microsoft’s 1.31% rise gave the biggest boost to the S&P and the Dow, followed by Amazon and Apple.
Both indexes had rallied in the past week since the shock victory of Donald Trump in the US election on expectations of higher fiscal spending and lower regulations.
However, investors remain uncertain about Trump’s policies and are also keeping an eye on key appointments in his administration.
Expectations Trump’s administration will cut taxes, increase spending and accelerate inflation have boosted the dollar and driven bond yields higher.
The dollar slipped from an 11-month high, pausing for breath after rallying almost 3% since Trump’s win.
“We’re sort of poised for a little bit of a pullback here as people reassess what the new administration is likely to accomplish,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St Petersburg, Florida.
“The uncertainty is going to hang over the markets for a while. So we may see a lot of this back and forth.”
At 9:47am ET (1447 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 55.16 points, or 0.29%, at 18,813.53, the S&P 500 was up 2.46 points, or 0.11%, at 2,166.66 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 24.08 points, or 0.46%, at 5,242.48.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the energy index’s 1.65% rise leading the advancers.
The financial index, which rose more than 10% since the election, fell 1.42% as traders cashed in profits.
Oil prices jumped more than 3%, bouncing back from multi-month lows on expectations that Opec will agree later this month to cut production to reduce a supply glut.
US retail sales rose more than expected in October as households bought motor vehicles and a range of other goods. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday retail sales increased 0.8% last month, above the 0.6% increase forecast by economists.
Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren said on Tuesday only “significant negative news” could derail the Fed’s high expectations for raising US interest rates next month.
The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates at its next meeting in December. Traders have priced in an 86% chance, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Home Depot fell 2.1% to US$125.13 after the No.1 US home improvement chain reported third-quarter results.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Continental Holdings were up between 0.4% and 5.5%, a day after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway said it had bought shares in the airlines.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,630 to 1,158. On the Nasdaq, 1,337 issues fell and 1,055 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 14 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 54 new highs and nine new lows. - Reuters
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