By Alex Eule
| Wednesday, July 8
Flying Blind. A day
after the U.S. saw 60,000 new Covid-19 cases -- the highest daily
number yet -- stocks rose across the board, with tech once again leading the
way. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.4% to another record close. The
gain saved the Nasdaq from consecutive days of declines, something that
hasn't happened since mid May.
The Dow
Jones Industrial Average rose 177 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P
500 finished the day up 0.8%.
The market
continues to overlook seemingly distressing news, not just from the virus
itself. United Airlines warned employees today that it might have to
furlough nearly half of its U.S. workforce later this year given Covid-related
disruptions. United stock still finished the day essentially flat, while the NYSE
Arca Airline Index actually
rose 0.5%. Daren Fonda has more on the United news on Barrons.com. Daren separately notes
that new interstate travel rules and quarantines could soon put a damper on the rebound the airline
industry has only just begun to see.
One silver
lining for the airlines could be flights to Orlando. Disney World is sticking
to its planned reopening this weekend. Shares of Walt
Disney were up
2.7% today, the stock's best day since June 3.
The market's
continued tolerance for risk showed up in Kohl's stock, which will need continued economic
improvement to do well. Shares of the retailer soared 9%, making it the
best performer in the S&P 500.
Shares got a boost from Bank of
America Merrill Lynch, which upgraded the stock
to Buy. The company has “already shown superior reopening
trends versus peers," the firm's analysts wrote. Teresa
Rivas has more here.
While stocks are surging
generally, investors are still hedging their bets. Gold, a
traditional safe haven, finished the day up 0.6%, to $1,815 an ounce.
That's the precious metal's highest settlement since September 2011.
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