Stocks wobble a day after biggest drop since May
Trader Patrick Casey works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Stocks are opening modestly higher on Wall Street, making up some of the ground they lost in a sharp pullback a day earlier.[AP Photo/Richard Drew]
Stocks wobbled between small gains and losses in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday following a sharp pullback a day earlier.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 11:14 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63 points, or 0.2%, to 34,035 and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%.
Health care companies made some of the biggest gains. Johnson & Johnson rose 0.7% after reporting that a booster of its one-shot coronavirus vaccine provides a stronger immune response months after people receive a first dose.
Technology companies also made gains in a reversal from Monday, when the sector slumped. A mix of industrial and financial stocks fell broadly.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 1.31%.
European markets were higher, and Asian markets mostly rose. Chinese markets remained closed for a holiday.
The market sell-off on Monday was prompted in part by worries about heavily indebted Chinese real estate developers and the damage they could do if they default and send ripple effects through markets. That added to a wide range of concerns hovering over investors, including the highly contagious delta variant as well as higher prices squeezing business and consumers.
Wall Street is also gauging how the recovery’s slowdown will impact the Federal Reserve’s policies that have helped support the market and economy. The central bank will release a policy statement on Wednesday, which will be closely watched for any signals on how the Fed will eventually reduce its bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.
Several companies are making solid gains after giving investors encouraging financial updates. Ride-hailing company Uber jumped 9.3% after telling investors that it could post an adjusted profit this quarter. Equipment rental supplier Herc Holdings rose 5.6% following a solid long-term growth forecast.
Supply chain problems, which have been hurting a broad range of industries, weighed on several companies. Homebuilder Lennar slipped 1.7% after home deliveries for the third quarter fell short of analysts’ forecasts because of supply chain problems. KAR Auction Services fell 0.4% after pulling its financial forecasts for the year because of the computer chip shortage that has been hurting the auto industry.
Universal Music jumped 38% in its debut on Amsterdam’s stock exchange.