Nasdaq hits record as Dow, S&P slip amid signs services sector is cooling
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos steps aside as CEO
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U.S. equity markets ended mixed Tuesday with the Nasdaq hitting record highs despite signs of a slowdown in the services sector.
The Nasdaq rose 0.17% to finish at a fresh record peak while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 slid off all-time highs, finishing down 0.59% and 0.2%, respectively.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 44296.51 | +426.16 | +0.97% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5969.34 | +20.63 | +0.35% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19003.651134 | +31.23 | +0.16% |
The Institute for Supply Management said the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, cooled last month as the supply-chain issues caused by COVID-19 continued to cause disruptions. The reading for the institute's nonmanufacturing index fell to 60.1 last month after hitting a record 64.0 in May. Any reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices turned sharply lower after spiking as much as $1.82 to $76.98 a barrel after production talks between OPEC and its allies broke down. The rift in the group comes as the United Arab Emirates, the world’s fourth-largest producer, declined Saudi Arabia’s deal to raise output, instead wanting to pump out more of its oil under any agreement. WTI closed down $1.79 at $73.37.
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In stocks, oil related-companies, including Chevron Corp., Halliburton Corp. and Occidental Petroleum Corp., were in focus.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 162.36 | +0.73 | +0.45% |
| HAL | HALLIBURTON CO. | 31.94 | +0.07 | +0.20% |
| OXY | OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM CORP. | 51.93 | +0.39 | +0.76% |
Elsewhere, Didi Global Corp. was sharply lower after Chinese regulators said new users in the country could not download the app before a cybersecurity review of the company was completed. Shares had fallen 6.73% during the first three days of trading.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIDI | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| BIDU | BAIDU INC. | 80.33 | -1.30 | -1.59% |
| NIO | NIO INC. | 4.85 | +0.14 | +2.97% |
Other Chinese companies, like Alibaba Group Holdings, Baidu Inc. and Nio, were all trading lower amid concerns of a wide-reaching crackdown by the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, Amazon Inc. shares hit a record after founder Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO on Monday, 27 years after founding the company. Bezos, who is now executive chairman, will be replaced by cloud-computing chief Andy Jassy.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 197.12 | -1.26 | -0.64% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 417.00 | +4.13 | +1.00% |
| ORCL | ORACLE CORP. | 192.29 | -0.14 | -0.07% |
Also impacting shares of the e-commerce giant was news that the Pentagon has canceled the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract that was awarded to Microsoft Corp. Amazon had previously argued the contract was given to Microsoft due to former President Donald Trump's dislike of the company and Bezos. Oracle also disputed the initial award.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 25.63 | +0.49 | +1.95% |
The effectiveness of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine has fallen to 64% since June 6, Israel said on Monday. Still, the vaccine has 95% protection against serious illness and preventing hospitalization.
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Overseas markets were broadly lower.
Germany’s DAX paced the decline in Europe, trading down 0.96% while France’s CAC lost 0.91% and Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.89%.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.25%, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.12% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 ticked up 0.16%.