The Nasdaq soars, the Dow plunges in the face of the return of health risk – archyworldys

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Nasdaq Composite set a new record and broke the 16,000 point mark for the first time in its history on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, driven by healthy tech stocks, but the Dow Jones recorded its fourth consecutive session of decline, weighed down by the resurgence of risk aversion in the face of the return of sanitary confinements in Europe.

Bank stocks, energy and air transport stocks suffered in particular during this last session of the week on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones fell 0.75%, or 268.97 points, to 35,601.98 points. The larger S & P-500 lost 6.58 points, or -0.14%, to 4,697.96 points.

The Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, rose 63.73 points (0.40%) to 16,057.44 points.

Over the past week, the Dow fell 1.38%, the S&P advanced 0.32% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.24%, according to provisional data.

The severe restriction measures again in force in several European countries in the face of a rebound in the COVID-19 epidemic have cooled the enthusiasm of investors in several sectors sensitive to the health situation, including airlines and cruise lines.

Large oil companies have also suffered from fears of declining demand in Europe, and the S&P Energy sub-index posted one of the worst performance of sector indices.

In this context, bonds regained their appeal and yields fell, weighing down the banking sector but benefiting technology stocks, still sensitive to changes in rates, and as a consequence to the Nasdaq.

(French version Jean-Stéphane Brosse)