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After moving in opposite directions early in the session, the major U.S. stock indexes continue to turn in a mixed performance in mid-day trading on Monday. While the Dow has climbed to a new record intraday high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a steep drop.<\/p>\n
Currently, the Dow is up 278.03 points or 0.8 percent at 35,055.79, but the Nasdaq is down 169.20 points or 1.2 percent at 13,583.04. The S&P 500 has spent the day lingering near the unchanged line and is currently up just 1.48 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,234.08.<\/p>\n
The steep drop by the Nasdaq comes amid weakness among technology<\/span> stocks following negative analyst comments about several big-name companies.<\/p>\n Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) are posting notable losses after Citi downgraded both stocks to Neutral from Buy.<\/p>\n Oracle (ORCL) has also moved to the downside after Barclays downgraded its rating on the business<\/span> software giant’s stock to Equal Weight from Overweight.<\/p>\n Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin has also warned about the potential negative impact on the earnings of big-name tech companies if President Joe Biden’s corporate tax plan were fully enacted.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the Dow is benefiting from strong gains by companies such as 3M (MMM), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Walgreens (WBA).<\/p>\n With the strong upward move on the day, the blue chip index is moving higher for the sixth consecutive session.<\/p>\n Sector News<\/p>\n Housing stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of the session, resulting in a 2.3 percent jump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.<\/p>\n The strong gain on the day has lifted the housing sector index to its best intraday level since a two-for-one split in early 2006.<\/p>\n Significant strength also remains visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. The index has once again reached a nearly ten-year intraday high.<\/p>\n Telecom stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index climbing by 2 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.7 percent.<\/p>\n Qorvo (QRVO), Brooks Automation (BRKS) and Lam Research (LRSX) are turning in some of the sector’s worst performances.<\/p>\n Computer hardware, software and biotechnology stocks are also seeing notable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the Nasdaq.<\/p>\n Other Markets<\/p>\n In overseas trading, stock markets<\/span> across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a lackluster performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both closed nearly unchanged.<\/p>\n In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back near the unchanged line after seeing early strength. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price is down by less than a basis point at 1.584 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n