Stocks were mostly lower Tuesday after Wall Street closed out August with its fifth consecutive monthly gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 110 points, or 0.39%, to 28,319, the S&P 500 slipped 0.08% and the Nasdaq rose 0.42%.
U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Monday with the Dow falling 227 points, or 0.8%, to 28,428, and the S&P 500 declining 0.2%. The Nasdaq rose 0.7% and closed at a record high on the back of gains in Apple (AAPL) – Get Report and Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report.
Apple shares were rising 1.5% Tuesday to $131.01 following a report that said the tech giant was preparing suppliers to mass-produce more than 75 million of its new 5G-enabled iPhones ahead of the phone’s fall launch.
Despite the losses Monday, the Dow finished August with a gain of 7.6%, and the S&P 500 rose 7%, its best gain since 1986. The Nasdaq jumped 9.6% last month, the tech-heavy index’s best monthly performance since 2000.
Stocks have staged a remarkable recovery since the coronavirus pandemic was declared in March, led largely by tech shares and optimism over a reopening of the U.S. economy.
But with election season looming and coronavirus infections in the U.S. still ticking higher, the question is whether the stock market gains can be sustained as September begins.
“The reopening continues but many investors have one foot in and one foot out because they dislike the uncertainty of the upcoming elections,” said Gerald Sparrow, chief information officer of the Sparrow Growth Fund. “There will be some unnerving short-term volatility. However, no matter who gets elected, the economy and the market will do well. We always find a way.”
Zoom to the Moon
Walmart (WMT) – Get Report shares rose Tuesday after the retail giant unveiled Walmart+, a rival to Amazon.com’s (AMZN) – Get Report Prime membership.