Wall Street’s underlying worries about the resilience of the economic recovery were given room to roam Tuesday thanks to a dearth of significant new positive data.
COVID-related hospitalizations are rising across much of the Sun Belt, and yesterday once again saw a new record rolling seven-day average of daily new cases. That caused economically sensitive stocks such as American Airlines (AAL, -7.0%) and Carnival (CCL, -6.6%) to lead the market lower today.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finally suffered a loss after five consecutive up days, closing 0.9% lower to 10,343. The S&P 500 dipped 1.1% to 3,145, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the worst of the major blue-chip indices, closing 1.5% down to 25,890. The small-cap Russell 2000 declined 1.9% to finish Tuesday's session at 1,416.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
There were a handful of bright spots, however.
Walmart (WMT, +6.8%), for instance, leaped on news that it will launch an Amazon Prime competitor subscription service later this month for $98 annually. The service reportedly will include perks such as same-day grocery delivery and discounts on fuel.
And Novavax (NVAX, +31.6%) roared ahead after announcing the federal government is awarding the biotech company $1.6 billion to help speed up development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
A Sideways Summer?
Every rally needs the occasional breather, and there’s little in Tuesday’s pause to signal deeper declines ahead. But some on Wall Street are increasingly of the mind that we could be in for a sideways summer following Q2’s rapid stock-market recovery and amid a batch of fresh question marks about America’s ability to fend off the coronavirus.
The fall elections could be trouble, too.
“Markets tend to be volatile ahead of elections because of the uncertainty around possible policy changes,” Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist at LPL Financial, writes in a recent note. "In this election, the stakes are particularly high for corporate America because a takeover of the Senate by Democrats and a possible Biden victory reportedly may lead to an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and unwind the corporate earnings boost the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act delivered."
Investors looking to dampen at least a little of the volatility until the next bull run can find strength in numbers; after all, 100 stocks are far less likely to take you on a wild ride than one.
You can get that kind of diversification for dirt cheap via these eight low-cost index funds. And you can’t really have a discussion about inexpensive market exposure without mentioning Vanguard, which has a number of indexed and active products alike to help you harness the market’s next leg up.
However, if you’re looking to get tactical, explore the many actively managed options from Fidelity. The fund provider offers many options that tap into growth, whether it’s in U.S. large caps, lesser-known small firms or corporations across the globe. Here, we explore 15 noteworthy Fidelity mutual funds with no minimum investment requirement:
-
Customer Services are Strained at the SSA, You Should Plan Around These Federal HolidaysIf you have a question or need information from a federal agency, check the federal holiday schedule to make sure you get your business done before they close.
-
Stock Market Today: No 'Powell Put'? No ProblemInvestors, traders and speculators look beyond both another Trump post and more signs of slowing economic activity.
-
Walmart's Transformative Ways Spark a 100,000% Stock ReturnWalmart's strategic store expansion and relentless cost-cutting have catapulted its share price over the years.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 748 Points as UnitedHealth Sells OffA services-sector contraction and a worse-than-anticipated consumer sentiment reading sent bulls scrambling Friday.
-
Stock Market Today: Growth Concerns Drag on StocksForward-looking commentary from a major retailer outweighed its backward-looking results as all three major equity indexes retreated on Thursday.
-
Walmart Is the Worst Dow Jones Stock After Earnings. Here's Why
Walmart stock is sinking Thursday as the retail giant's dreary outlook offsets a fourth-quarter earnings beat and dividend hike. Here's what you need to know.
-
7 of Warren Buffett's Biggest MissesWarren Buffett's investing wins are highly regarded across Wall Street, but no one can bat a thousand. Here are some of Buffett's biggest misses.
-
How Do Tariffs Impact the Stock Market?Trump's tariff announcement sent shockwaves through the stock market, and there are still a lot of moving parts. Here, we look at what impact tariffs have on the stock market and your portfolio.
-
Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged: What the Experts Are SayingFederal Reserve As widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee took a 'wait-and-see' approach toward borrowing costs.
-
American Airlines Stock Sinks After Earnings. Here's WhyAmerican Airlines stock is lower Thursday as the air carrier's weak outlook offsets its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beats. Here, we look at the numbers.
