U.S. stocks finished Wednesday higher, ending a two-day losing streak, as investors looked past concerns that rising COVID-19 infections around the world could slow economic growth.
What did major indexes do?
Stocks fell Tuesday for a second day , with the Dow shedding 256.33 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9% and the small-cap Russell 2000 slumped 2%.
What drove the market?
U.S. stocks on Wednesday halted a two-session skid, with Dow and S&P just shy of records and small-cap stocks outperforming as the investors favor stocks that might benefit from economic recovery as businesses reopen as more of the population becomes fully vaccinated.
"It's the reflation trade, again," said Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist at Capitol Securities Management. "One day, it's like we are going to hell in a handbasket. The next day, it's like wow, things are looking good."
Engelke attributed the whipsawing action partially to the rise in algorithmic trading and technology-driven trading, but also to jitters around potential further corporate earnings disappointments, following the Netflix Inc. $(NFLX)$ earnings miss late Tuesday. "You can't have earnings disappointments in issues that are trading at such high valuations," Engelke told MarketWatch. "There is no room for error."
Pressure earlier this week on the S&P 500 index and Dow followed fresh records on Friday, with analysts largely tying two days of declines to concerns about a renewed rise in COVID-19 infections around the world, particularly in India and Japan.
India reported a record number of cases have now surpassed those of China.
But Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at Global Wealth Management, UBS AG, still sees buying opportunities in stocks as volatility picks up, particularly since shipments of the Johnson & Johnson $(JNJ)$ COVID-19 vaccine are set to resume to Europe , after its one-shot dose was paused in the U.S.
"Periods of elevated volatility can present opportunities to generate yield, gradually build up long-term holdings, or gain exposure to markets using asymmetric payoff structures," the Haefele's team wrote in a Wednesday note.
Read: Stocks are at all-time highs and the U.S. economy is booming. So why is everyone so freaked out?
"I call this the great re-assessment," said Don Calcagni, chief investment officer for Mercer Advisors. "A lot of things are forcing market participants to hit the pause button and re-assess, including a rise in COVID cases. We're also seeing some questionable earnings despite the overall headlines."
"Look at Netflix," Calcagni said in an interview. "Look at the bitcoin mini-crash. Look at the airlines -- their earnings were very disappointing. I think a reassessment is occurring and I think that's healthy. Right now we're at peak everything. It doesn't mean we can't go higher from here but it is going to be harder."
See: Stock-market sentiment shifts after investor euphoria pushed U.S. equities to record highs
Corporate earnings season has hit full swing, but disappointing results from Netflix late Tuesday sent shares of the streaming giant down 7.4% by Wednesday afternoon.
With markets being priced close to perfection, "any kind of blemish" can weigh down stocks, Kristina Hooper, Invesco's chief global market strategist, told MarketWatch Wednesday in a phone interview. But "we're on the cusp of what I think is going to be a strong economic recovery in the U.S.," Hooper said, which should continue to support stocks after a recent shift in investor sentiment.
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