Nasdaq ends at fresh records as European bourses retreat

NEW YORK, USA – The Nasdaq ended at a fresh record on Wednesday, July 1, after a mostly positive day for Wall Street stocks despite a lackluster session in Europe.

Led by Amazon, Netflix, and other tech giants that won big gains, the Nasdaq rose 1% even as the United States confronts a worsening coronavirus outbreak in much of the country.

California’s governor ordered restaurants to close indoor dining in Los Angeles as officials around the country urged Americans to stay at home during the upcoming Independence Day holiday, with states reporting thousands of new coronavirus cases.

Tech giants including Amazon, Facebook, Google parent Alphabet, and Netflix gained between 1.7% and 6.7% as the so-called “stay-at-home” stock trade proved popular.

“It’s the same sort of COVID rotation we saw at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Chris Low, chief economist of FHN Financial. “What this means for a lot of people is working at home longer.”

New US economic data showed improvement from the worst of the downturn earlier in the spring.

Private firms hired 2.4 million workers in June, according to data from payroll services firm ADP. Combined with the 3 million hires in May, it means a quarter of the 20 million people who lost jobs in March and April due to the pandemic have returned to work.

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index jumped to 52.6% in June, showing a return to growth as parts of the industry rebounded at unheard-of rates.

However leading auto manufacturers, including General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, reported sharply lower car sales in the 2nd quarter. 

Earlier, European stock markets all finished modestly lower.

European aircraft maker Airbus late Tuesday, June 30, said it planned to axe about 15,000 jobs worldwide, or 11% of its workforce, in response to the “gravest crisis” the industry has ever seen.

SSP, the British owner of food outlets in railway stations and airports worldwide, said on Wednesday it was eyeing 5,000 United Kingdom job cuts.

Earlier, Tokyo closed lower after a closely watched Bank of Japan survey showed that confidence among the country’s biggest manufacturers had hit its lowest level since 2009, during the global financial crisis.

But Shanghai gained, with investors taking heart from the easing of reimposed lockdowns in China.

Among individual companies, Tesla jumped 3.7% as the electric carmaker overtook Toyota to become the world’s biggest car company by market value.

Key figures around 9 pm GMT

• New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3% at 25,734.97 (close)
• New York – S&P 500: UP 0.5% at 3,115.86 (close)
• New York – Nasdaq: UP 1% at 10,154.63 (close)
• London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2% at 6,157.96 (close)
• Frankfurt – DAX 30: DOWN 0.4% at 12,260.57 (close)
• Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2% at 4,926.94 (close)
• EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2% at 3,228.45 (close)
• Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8% at 22,121.73 (close)
• Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.4% at 3,025.98 (close)
• Hong Kong – Hang Seng: Closed for a holiday
• West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4% at $39.82 per barrel
• Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.8% at $42.03 per barrel
• Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1249 from $1.1234 at 9 pm GMT
• Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2468 from $1.2401
• Euro/pound: DOWN at 90.19 pence from 90.59 yen
• Dollar/yen: DOWN at 107.43 yen from 107.93 yen

– Rappler.com