Tech's Everlasting Shine

By Nicholas Jasinski |  Tuesday, June 9

Role Reversal. Big Tech stocks showed that they've still got mojo today: Apple, Amazon.com, Facebook, and Microsoft all closed at record highs. Add a rally in semiconductor-related shares, and the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.3% to notch an all-time high close for the second day in a row. The technology- and health-care-heavy index is nearing the symbolic level of 10,000 points.

Other sectors of the market didn't fare as well today. The recent days' blistering rally in the most economically and coronavirus-sensitive shares took a breather, as investors took a moment to consider the risk/reward at current valuations.

There were a few reminders of the potential pitfalls that could lie ahead today. The number of new coronavirus cases world-wide hit the highest daily total ever on Sunday, and remained elevated yesterday. Infections are picking up in developing countries including Brazil and India, as well as in several U.S. states.

Economic data from Germany missed expectations by a wide margin, casting doubt on the pace of the recovery under way in Europe. And Friday’s strong May jobs numbers reportedly have some lawmakers in Washington less willing to pursue an additional multi-trillion-dollar economic stimulus bill.

The S&P 500 fell back into the red for 2020, down 0.8% today, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.1%. Ben Levisohn has more thoughts on today's pause in the rally here.

Tomorrow's focus will be the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee. A monetary-policy decision and press conference with Chairman Jerome Powell will come in the afternoon. The consensus expectation is that the Fed will continue its quantitative easing programs and leave interest rates unchanged. But comments from Powell on the May jobs report and economic recovery will get plenty of attention.

Barron's Matthew Klein has a guide for what to watch out for here.