Wall Street closes lower price after technology stocks retreat
Material shares on Wall Street outperformed tech such as Apple and Tesla after US investors waited for Congress to approve another stimulus package.
The S&P 500 materials and consumer staples sector indexes rose, while the decline for Apple and Tesla contributed the most to the S&P 500’s loss by 0.8 per cent.
As the closing bell sounded in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.46 per cent to end at 31,390 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.81 per cent to 3,870. The Nasdaq Composite also dropped 1.69 per cemt to 13,358.
Technology shares dipped after investors moved out of stocks which outperformed due to the coronavirus pandemic and into others viewed as likely to do well as the economy recovers.
Global investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management Tom Hainlin said: “Part of it is just because technology went up so much last year, and if interest rates are on the rise, then the value of their future cash flows is diminished.”
At the same time, yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds have stabilised after hitting a one-year high last week.
The US Senate will begin debating President Biden’s relief bill this week, which will allow the Democrats to pass legislation through a maneuver called “reconciliation,” where the bill would pass with a simple majority.
Meanwhile in London, the FTSE 100 closed at 6,613, up 0.8 per cent, an increase of 25 points from the closing price of 6,558 yesterday.
The FTSE 250 index ended 0.2 per cent lower.