Major Averages Remain Starkly Mixed In Mid-Day Trading

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.

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.

The steep drop by the Nasdaq comes amid weakness among technology stocks following negative analyst comments about several big-name companies.

Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) are posting notable losses after Citi downgraded both stocks to Neutral from Buy.

Oracle (ORCL) has also moved to the downside after Barclays downgraded its rating on the business software giant’s stock to Equal Weight from Overweight.

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.

On the other hand, the Dow is benefiting from strong gains by companies such as 3M (MMM), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Walgreens (WBA).

With the strong upward move on the day, the blue chip index is moving higher for the sixth consecutive session.

Sector News

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.

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.

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.

Telecom stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index climbing by 2 percent.

Meanwhile, semiconductor stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 2.7 percent.

Qorvo (QRVO), Brooks Automation (BRKS) and Lam Research (LRSX) are turning in some of the sector’s worst performances.

Computer hardware, software and biotechnology stocks are also seeing notable weakness, contributing to the steep drop by the Nasdaq.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets 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.

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.

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.