Stock indexes in the United States relinquished solid gains on Monday, August 2. Stocks also ended mostly lower, based on the news posted online by financial, business, and stock market news outlet MarketWatch.
Market analysts point to the persistent concerns about the coronavirus or COVID-19’s delta variant spreading, making an excuse for modest selling on the equity markets’ first trading day this August.
We think this report is important for our readers to learn about today. It demonstrates how the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its highly contagious delta variant adversely affect the US stock market.
The major US stock market indices traded mostly in a downside manner. The Dow Jones Industrial Average or DJIA plummeted 0.3 percent or 97.31 points to 34,838.16 points.
This activity happened following the DJIA touching an intraday high at 35,192.11 points. As for the S&P 500 index, it traded down 0.2 percent or 8.10 points to 4,387.16 points.
However, it touched 4,422.18 points, considered as Monday’s peak. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.06 percent or 8.39 points higher, closing at 14,681.07 points.
Nevertheless, it had reached 14,770.41 points, its intraday peak. The major indices dropped last week. The DJIA fell 0.4 percent, similar to the S&P 500.
Moreover, the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent after the mega-cap technology firms reported quarterly results. In August, the S&P 500 rose 2.3 percent for its sixth consecutive monthly gain.
Other markets like the 10-year Treasury note’s yield traded down 1.173 percent or 6.6 basis points. Yields and debt prices move in opposite directions. The ICE US Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency versus a basket of six leading rivals, was off 0.2 percent.
Oil futures lost ground and the US benchmark was down 3.6 percent or US$2.69, closing at US$71.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, gold futures surged 0.3 percent or US$5, closing at US$1,822.20 per ounce.
US stocks witnessed choppy trade as the August trading action began. This month is reportedly a seasonally challenging time for equities, living up to its billing. TD Ameritrade’s market strategist head J. J. Kinahan said that some of the turbulence is being close to all-time highs.
Wall Street garnered some caution because of the worries about the COVID-19 delta variant’s spread. Investors are currently analyzing these concerns and the heightening jitters about the outlook for corporate and economic growth
We do not feel surprised about the US stock market indices staging downward movements. After all, the COVID-19 delta variant is certainly worrying for investors.
This serious disease heavily impacts the US stock market and that of the rest of the world’s. We hope that as vaccination rollouts carry on in the United States and worldwide, the US stock market and its contemporaries overseas will be able to recuperate, though slowly.