US Stocks End Mainly Lower On Business Shutdowns

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2020-07-10 HKT 04:44

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  • Investors are beginning to shift their focus to earnings. File photo: Reuters

    Investors are beginning to shift their focus to earnings. File photo: Reuters

The United States saw more than 60,000 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, setting a single-day global record while Florida and Texas reported a record one-day increase in deaths.

Investors also began to turn their focus to the second-quarter earnings season, which shifts into higher gear next week. S&P 500 companies are expected to post a more than 40 percent decline in year-over-year earnings, which would be the biggest quarterly profit drop since the 2008 financial crisis, based on IBES data from Refinitiv.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc shares dropped after it reported a quarterly loss compared with a profit a year earlier, hurt by non-cash impairment charges of US$2 billion as Covid-19 disrupted business at its Boots UK division. Its stock closed 7.8 percent lower.

"We're heading into earnings season, and you're seeing some troubling trends," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"I expect a lot of confusing numbers and guidance. Covid is certainly not behind us in any way, shape or form, so maybe the V gets elongated some," he said.

The Nasdaq registered its fifth record closing high in six days, helped by gains in Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp , Nvidia, Apple Inc. Also, Tesla extended recent gains, ending up 2.1 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.39 percent to 25,706.09, the S&P 500 fell 0.56 percent to 3,152.05 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.53 percent to 10,547.75.

The benchmark S&P 500 is still up more than 40 percent from its March 23 closing low. (Reuters)

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