U.S. stocks edged higher in mid-morning trading Wednesday, potentially on their way toward ending a two-day losing streak, despite concerns that rising COVID-19 infections around the world could slow economic growth.
What are major indexes doing?
Stocks had fallen Tuesday for a second day, with the Dow DJIA shedding 256.33 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 SPX dropped 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP lost 0.9% and the small-cap Russell 2000 RUT slumped 2%.
What’s driving the market?
Stocks have seen a modest pullback this week after the S&P 500 index and Dow ended at records on Friday, with analysts largely tying the decline to concerns about a renewed rise in COVID-19 infections around the world, particularly in India and Japan.
“Sentiment was hurt predominantly due to renewed worries over rising global COVID infections which could slow down the reopening of some economies,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at ThinkMarkets, in a note. “In the case of U.S. stocks, there was also an element of profit-taking after the major indices had reached or neared record levels with the earnings season in full swing now.”
India reported a record number of cases again on Wednesday, counting more than 200,000 for a seventh straight day. The country’s hospitals are reported to be filling rapidly, it is running out of ICU beds and running low on oxygen. News reports said Japanese officials were considering ordering a state of emergency for Tokyo and Osaka due to surging COVID-19 cases.
“I call this the great re-assessment,” said Don Calcagni, chief investment officer for Mercer Advisors. “A lot of things are forcing market participants to hit the pause button and re-assess, including a rise in COVID cases. We’re also seeing some questionable earnings despite the overall headlines.”
“Look at Netflix,” Calcagni said in an interview. “Look at the bitcoin mini-crash. Look at the airlines — their earnings were very disappointing. I think a reassessment is occurring and I think that’s healthy. Right now we’re at peak everything. It doesn’t mean we can’t go higher from here but it is going to be harder.”
The softer tone for markets came as earnings season moved into full swing this week. Results from Netflix Inc. NFLX late Tuesday sent shares of the streaming giant down 8% and was seen weighing on Nasdaq-100 futures.
With markets being priced close to perfection, “any kind of blemish” can weigh down stocks, Kristina Hooper, Invesco’s chief global market strategist, told MarketWatch Wednesday morning in a phone interview. But “we’re on the cusp of what I think is going to be strong economic recovery in the U.S.,” Hooper said, which should continue to support stocks after a recent shift in investor sentiment.