By Stan Choe and Alex Veiga | The Associated Press
Wall Street is snapping back on Wednesday from its recent tumble, as the bloodletting for big technology stocks comes to at least a temporary halt.
Apple, Amazon, Zoom Video Communications and other tech companies that suddenly lost their momentum late last week on worries their stocks soared too high all regained some ground. They helped lift the S&P 500 by 2.5% in afternoon trading, and the index is on pace for its best day in three months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 650 points, or 2.4%, at 28,151 as of 1:48 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite, which includes many tech stocks, was up 2.8%. It’s coming off a 10% drop over the last three days.
Tesla, which has made some of the wildest moves in recent months, rose 6.1%. A day earlier, it plunged 21.1% for its worst day since its shares began trading a decade ago. In August, it surged 74.1%.
Selling over the last week in the market has focused on such tech superstars, which had earlier zoomed through the pandemic amid expectations that they would benefit from the new stay-at-home economy. Blockbuster spring profit reports from many of them emboldened investors, who bid their stock prices up to levels that critics called too expensive, even after accounting for their powerful growth.
A flurry of buying of stock options for big tech stocks may have helped further goose the gains, analysts say.
This month the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pushed repeatedly to record highs, even though the economy is struggling under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. But the fever broke on Thursday, with the S&P 500 dropping 7% during its first three-day losing streak in nearly three months.
Still to be determined is whether that sell-off was just a blowing-off of some steam for tech stocks that had gotten overheated — or the beginning of a more widespread downturn.
Other sectors didn’t get as expensive as technology during the recent run-up. Banks and other financial stocks in the S&P 500 are still down nearly 19% for 2020 so far, for example. But challenges continue to loom over the entire market, including uncertainty about how the pandemic will progress.
Trade issues remain a worry for markets, and the souring U.S.-China relationship gets the brightest spotlight. But that’s not the only potential hot spot.
Tiffany lost 7.3% after European luxury giant LVMH ended its $14.5 billion takeover deal for the jewelry retailer. LVMH said it made the move in part because the French government requested a delay due to the threat of proposed U.S. tariffs on French products.
Investors are also waiting for Congress to deliver more aid to the economy after unemployment benefits and other stimulus that it approved earlier ran out. Investors say it’s critical that the economy get such stimulus, but partisan disagreements have Congress at an apparent impasse.
A Senate vote this week on a trimmed-down relief package proposed by Republicans has only a slim chance of passage as Democrats insist on more sweeping aid.
The stock market’s rally started in late March following massive amounts of aid from the Federal Reserve and Congress. It accelerated as the economy showed signs of improvement. Corporate profit reports for the spring that weren’t as disastrous as expected also helped lift the market.
Late Tuesday, Slack Technologies also reported what analysts called a good quarter, with revenue topping expectations. But the company also reported billings that were weaker than expected, and its stock tumbled 15.2%.
Hopes for a potential COVID-19 vaccine also helped the S&P 500 erase all of its nearly 34% loss from earlier in the pandemic. U.S-listed shares of AstraZeneca slipped 1.4% Wednesday, though, after it put late-stage studies of its vaccine candidate on temporary hold while it investigates whether a recipient’s illness is a side effect of the shot.
Treasury yields ticked higher, with the 10-year yield rising to 0.69% from 0.68% late Tuesday.
Crude oil clawed back some of its slide from the prior day. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 3.8% to $38.16 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 3% to $40.96 per barrel.
European stocks were higher, with France’s CAC 40 up 1.4% and Germany’s DAX returning 2.1%. The FTSE 100 in London added 1.4%.
Asian markets were weaker. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1%, South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 0.6%. Stocks in Shanghai dropped 1.9%.
