Tech rally lifts Wall Street up Omicron-driven path

The S&P Technology subindex jumped 2.1%, indicating that investors were in favor of pandemic-resistant technology stocks amid rising fears from Omicron.

Gains in Amazon.com and Tesla Inc also pushed the S&P consumer discretionary sector higher by 1.7%, with investors viewing Friday’s losses as bargain-hunts in high-value tech names.

“People are seeing this as an opportunity to sell a little bit on Friday and get into certain areas of the market that are working hard,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.

The Wall Street index was down between 2.0% and 3.5% on Friday following news of the Omicron variant. Investors were now awaiting an update on President Joe Biden’s response to the virus and the country, which was due later in the day.

Twitter Inc posted early gains and traded 0.1% lower after the social media firm’s CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down and was succeeded by chief technology officer Parag Agarwal. The move ended Dorsey’s run as CEO of two major technology companies, the other being digital payments firm Square Inc.

Shares of Square fell 0.4%.

The Dow badly outperformed its peers, with major bank stocks weighing the most after Treasury yields fell from day’s highs.

Investors were considering a possible delay in the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates, in light of the new virus version.

Thomas Hayes, managing member of GREAT, said, “If omicron becomes a major issue, it will have to be bigger than the delta waves we’ve just gone through. There’s no question that the (Fed) taper will be halted either.” Or it will be delayed.” Hill Capital LLC, New York.

Merck & Company Inc. fell 4.5% and was also in the top drag on the Dow. The stock extended its losses Friday after updated data from a study of its experimental COVID-19 pill showed less efficacy in reducing the risk of hospitalizations and deaths than previously reported.

At 11:37 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 136.63 points, or 0.39%, at 35,035.97 and the S&P 500 was up 50.66 points, or 1.10%, at 4,645.28. The Nasdaq Composite was up 232.46 points, or 1.50%, at 15,724.11.

Among other stocks, casino operators Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International slipped 3.8% and 1.8% respectively, tracking losses at their Macau units, which were troubled by arrests over alleged links to cross-border gambling and money laundering.

Electric-car maker Tesla has begun using a new AMD chip in Model Y vehicles in China, after a report by Advanced Micro Devices rose 2.5%.

Tesla shares rose 4.6% after a report that chief Elon Musk urged employees to reduce the cost of vehicle delivery.

Apple Inc gained 1.9% after HSBC raised its price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

There has been an increase in the number of issues declining to a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and to a 1.51-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 15 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 215 new lows.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.