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The S&P 500 gave up earlier gains and closed in the red Wednesday as tech stocks sold off, continuing a market rotation out of high-flying growth names.
The Dow Jones Industrials, once enjoying gains around 300 points, actually finished in the red Wednesday 3.09 points to 32,720.16.
The S&P 500 faltered 21.38 points to 3,889.14,
The NASDAQ Composite drooped 265.81 points, or 2%, to 12,961.89. Apple, Facebook and Netflix all slid more than 2%, while Tesla fell 4.8%.
Classic reopening plays like airlines and cruise operators rolled over in afternoon trading. Shares of cruise operators fell to session lows after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the sailing order limiting cruises will stay in place until Nov. 1.
Norwegian Cruise Line dropped 4.9% following the news, while Royal Caribbean and Carnival fell 1.9% and 2.8%, respectively. Delta and United Airlines also ended the day lower.
One bright spot on Wednesday was the energy sector, which gained 2.5% as oil prices bounced back 6%. The material and financial sectors also outperformed, rising about 0.7% each.
Many regions of the world are indeed seeing rising COVID-19 cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread, the World Health Organization said. Germany and France are extending or enforcing new lockdown measures.
But the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. is picking up with nearly one in five adults now fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appeared for a second day for virtual Capitol Hill testimony. Talking with members of the Senate Banking Committee, Powell said he expects the economy to experience superior growth in 2021 amid a recovery from the pandemic.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys regained ground, lowering yields to 1.61% from Tuesday’s 1.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $2.99 to $60.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices increased $7.50 to $1,732.60.
