The Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs on Tuesday as worries about the Omicron version of the coronavirus eased and financial stocks rose, while Ford jumped on an upbeat forecast for electric pickup production.
Equity markets across the world jumped for a second straight day of trading in 2022, with the World Health Organization saying more evidence is emerging that the coronavirus variant is affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing milder symptoms than previous variants are visible.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced in early trading. Value-oriented and cyclicals such as energy and financials led the pack, each up about 2%. The performance of the healthcare sector remained weak.
Travel stocks advanced, the S&P 1500 Airlines Index was up 1.9% and cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corp were up between 0.9% and 2.1%.
Large technology stocks, which had gained in the previous session, rose. Apple Inc, Tesla Inc, Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet Inc rose between 0.1% and 1.2%.
The S&P 500 banks sector gained 2.7%, while the broader price index rose 0.7% to a record high.
Senior Portfolio Robert Pavlik said, “I think this is also the posture and position by some for the start of the new year. People see the start of the new year as a way to reposition assets in their portfolios. ” Manager at Dakota Wealth Management.
Pavlik said the price trade could lead the markets in the first half of this year in anticipation of a hike in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
In December the US central bank said it would end its pandemic-era bond purchases in 2022, signaling at least three rate hikes for the year. Minutes of the meeting are expected to be released on Wednesday.
Ford Motor Co added 6.6% when the automaker said it would nearly double its annual production capacity to 150,000 vehicles for its red-hot F-150 Lightning electric pickup.
General Electric Co. rose 2.7% after Credit Suisse upgraded the group’s stock from “neutral” to “outperform.”
Foot Locker Inc. slipped 3.4% after JPMorgan downgraded the sports and footwear retailer’s stock from “neutral” to “underweight.”
At 9:49 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 218.76 points, or 0.60%, at 36,803.82, the S&P 500 was up 18.80 points, or 0.39%, at 4,815.36, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.60 points, or 0.02. %, at 15,835.40.
Data shows US manufacturing slowed in December amid some cooling in demand for goods, but supply constraints are beginning to ease and prices paid by factories for inputs fell the most since early 2020 when the pandemic disrupted economic activity.
Advancing issues declined from a 1.96-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 31 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 49 new highs and nine new lows.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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