S&P hits 50th record closing high
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to new closing highs in light trading Tuesday as upbeat sentiment from the full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine carried over into a second day. Big cap tech names Amazon and Alphabet led the charge.
The Dow inched a tenth of a percent higher. The S&P tacked on nearly two-tenths of a percent, but that was enough to post a record closing high for the 50th time this year. The Nasdaq gained a half percent.
Systematic Ventures CEO Max Wolff says the rash of companies instituting vaccine mandates following the Pfizer approval kept investors in a buying mood.
"Part of the reason for the delayed excitement is it took a day or two to see a bunch of larger corporations and institutions kind of run with it, right? So we we knew that was a possibility, but then very quickly, right? It's 24 hours - a pretty quick timeframe to make a health policy decision, right? So you're starting to see institutions saying. Like, OK, you know no more excuses.”
Stocks that gain from the reopening of the economy such as Wynn Resorts and Carnival Cruise Lines were among the biggest climbers on the S&P.
The day’s top gainer on that broad index: Best Buy, rising over 8%. Strong sales of home theater systems and computer equipment prompted the retailer to raise its same-store sales forecast.
Hard-hit Chinese tech stocks bounced back. JD.com shot up 14%. The online retail giant said it does not expect Beijing’s regulatory clampdown to impact its business.
