Tech Shares Weigh on Major Indexes
May 10 2021 - 10:43AM
Dow Jones News
By Caitlin Ostroff
Technology stocks tumbled Monday after ending last week with the
S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average at fresh records.
The S&P 500 ticked down 0.1%. The index on Friday closed at
its 26th all-time high for this year. The Dow rose 0.6%, while the
Nasdaq Composite edged down 1.4%.
Stocks have ground higher in recent days after Federal Reserve
officials reiterated their commitment to easy financing conditions
to aid the economic recovery. President Biden is also proposing
additional fiscal spending. A weaker-than-expected jobs report on
Friday boosted optimism that the government and central bank are
likely to continue with supportive policies. But some money
managers are concerned that stocks' high valuations may mean the
rally will lose steam.
"Markets have come quite a long way and gone up a lot in a
relativity straight line," said Mike Bell, global market strategist
at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "So the hurdle for further gains
becomes higher."
Investors may be hesitant to put more money into expensive
stocks such as technology shares, said Sebastien Galy, senior macro
strategist at Nordea Asset Management. Money managers are
increasingly betting on sectors such as banking, travel and leisure
that would benefit when the economy rebounds and more businesses
reopen.
Concerns that higher inflation may erode the value of future
earnings is also likely to be driving investors away from
technology stocks, investors said.
Shares of semiconductor companies like Skyworks Solutions and
Qorvo were among Monday's decliners, falling 4.2% and 2.9%,
respectively.
Climbing commodity prices, supply chain issues and chip
shortages are adding to producing costs, which are likely to feed
through to individual consumers and corporate profits, said Ipek
Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
"From a market perspective, because everyone knows that
inflation is going higher, the real question is whether the rise in
inflation is going to be durable or not," Ms. Ozkardeskaya said.
"Inflation is a headwind for growth stocks. Value is going to be
more capable of carrying the weight of inflation on their
shoulders."
Marriott International shares fell 2.9% after the hotel chain
said it swung to a loss for the first quarter.
In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked up to
1.580%, from 1.576% Friday.
In commodities, copper futures on CME Group's Comex in New York
notched a record, rising 1.9% to $4.84 a pound. Bets on a U.S.-led
global economic rebound that would boost demand for metals used in
manufacturing and construction has bolstered prices.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 edged up
0.5%.
The British pound rose 1% against the dollar. The Scottish
National Party fell one seat short of an outright majority in the
country's parliament, prompting optimism that Scotland may avoid
holding another vote on splitting away from the U.K.
"The market consensus is that if the SNP didn't get a majority,
then potentially the Scottish referendum became less of a threat,"
said Jane Foley, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Rabobank. But
the potential for the SNP to work with other parties to achieve a
vote on independence could cause sterling to be volatile in the
coming months, she added.
In Asia, South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.6%, and the Shanghai
Composite Index added 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by almost
0.6%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.3% higher as mining stocks
pulled the index to its first record since the onset of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 10, 2021 10:28 ET (14:28 GMT)
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