The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones index rose on Wednesday on lightly positive factory data and higher oil prices, though concerns over a slower economic recovery and higher corporate taxes tempered sentiment.
The energy sector climbed 3.1% to lead growth in economically sensitive sectors as oil prices fell more than expected for US crude.
This helped the S&P 500 rise above a three-week low and the Dow recovered from a near two-month trough hit on Tuesday.
Industrial stocks were the second best performers, rising 0.8% as data showed factory activity in the country continued to expand in August.
But as activity rose 1% above pre-pandemic levels, the pace of growth slowed significantly due to disruption from Hurricane Ida last month and a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
Recent economic readings from around the world, including weak Chinese retail sales and slow growth in US consumer prices, have suggested that the economic recovery in the second half of 2021 may not be as spectacular as initially thought.
Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center, said, “It is a slowdown in economic activity, not just in the US but globally… we still have the COVID delta version that is causing problems in a lot of sectors. Is.” for financial research.
“We were at all-time highs just a week and a half ago, the market becomes sensitive to any kind of news, any kind of bad economic data when it is at an all-time high.”
At 11:56 am, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 92.87 points, or 0.27%, at 34,670.44, the S&P 500 was up 11.10 points, or 0.25%, at 4,454.15 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 9.66 points, or 0.06%, at 15,028.10. .
Stocks were also hit this week by reports that the government was approaching a corporate tax hike, which could cut earnings.
US-listed Chinese stocks extended recent losses after disappointing Chinese retail sales, while the escalating debt crisis at China’s No. 2 property developer, China Evergrande Group, raised fears of a potential impact on major lenders.
“Asian banks will be hit hard if there is a default, but then there will be a 10-year recovery process. The market is hanging on to it. The way they have managed the news flow seems smart enough. They haven’t done that.” “Leave the bad news all at once,” said Keith Temperton, sales trader at Fort Securities.
Concerns over Evergrande’s default have further fueled appetite for Chinese stocks after a series of recent regulatory moves against major technology firms wiped out billions of dollars in market value.
Apple Inc fell 0.6% after losing 1% in the previous session on a somewhat weak response to the unveiling of its Phone 13 and a new iPad mini.
Among other movers, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which has surged more than 50% in lending platform GreenSky Inc., said it would buy the firm in an all-stock deal valued at $2.24 billion.
Shares of Goldman Sachs fell 1%, trailing its banking peers.
Advancing issues declined to a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a nearly 1.4-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 recorded 2 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 61 new highs and 100 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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