The S&P 500 finished at a fresh record Tuesday as US stocks shook off early weakness and closed higher behind strength in industrials and energy shares.
Analysts cited bargain-hunting as a factor in Tuesday’s bounce back following Monday’s lackluster session, which was dented by worries over global growth and the Delta variant of Covid-19. Art Hogan, chief strategist at National Securities, said investors have been heartened by data showing an uptick in US vaccinations in response to the latest surge in Covid-19. “The more news we get, there’s the recognition that this variant is not going to lead to the same kind of lockdowns as a year ago,” Hogan said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.8 percent at 35,116.40. The broad-based S&P 500 also rose 0.8 percent to 4,423.15, edging out a previous record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6 percent to 14,761.29.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury, a proxy for the medium-term growth outlook, steadied after falling sharply on Monday. Among individual companies, online trading platform Robinhood Markets shot up more than 24 percent in its best session since going public last week. Activision Blizzard dropped 3.5 percent as the video game maker unveiled a management shakeup following employee protests and a California state lawsuit alleging toxic workplace conditions and discrimination against women. The head of the Blizzard Entertainment unit, J. Allen Brack, is leaving “to pursue new opportunities,” the company said in a statement, and will be replaced by company veterans Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra.
PepsiCo gained 0.2 percent after announcing that it will sell a majority share in its drink brands Tropicana and Naked to French investment fund PAI Partners for $3.3 billion.