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* Airlines, cruise operators climb as lockdowns ease
* Tech, healthcare stocks slip
* Fed's Beige Book expected later in the day
* Indexes mixed: Dow up 0.71%, S&P off 0.08%, Nasdaq down
1.25%
(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh
May 27 (Reuters) - A selloff in technology stocks dragged on
the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wednesday, with investors also
cautious about brewing U.S.-China tensions at a time when
policymakers are attempting to revive the global economy from a
coronavirus-driven slump.
Amazon.com AMZN.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Facebook
Inc FB.O , which have led a recent rally, weighed on the
tech-heavy Nasdaq, while healthcare .SPXHC and technology
stocks .SPLRCT - which outperformed in the coronavirus-led
market slump - were among the S&P 500 sector indexes in the red.
On the other hand, travel-related stocks including airlines
.SPCOMAIR , cruise companies and hotel operators jumped between
2.4% and 4.5% after taking a beating earlier this year due to a
virtual halt in global travel.
"(Traders are focusing on) the progress made in fighting the
coronavirus and optimism that we can see past this very sharp
downturn and return to a more normal state sometime in the
second half of the year," said Ed Keon, chief investment
strategist at multi-asset manager QMA in Newark, New Jersey.
The easing of lockdowns, optimism about an eventual COVID-19
vaccine and massive U.S. stimulus have powered a recent stock
market rally, helping the S&P 500 .SPX end on Tuesday at its
highest level since early March.
However, Sino-U.S. worries have kept a lid on further gains,
with President Donald Trump saying Washington would announce its
response to China's planned national security legislation on
Hong Kong before the end of the week. At 10:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 177.27 points, or 0.71%, at 25,172.38, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 2.28 points, or 0.08%, at 2,989.49, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 116.61 points, or 1.25%, at 9,223.61.
Facebook Inc FB.O and Twitter Inc TWTR.N slipped 2.6%
and 2.3%, respectively, after Trump threatened to shutter social
media companies a day after Twitter prompted readers to fact
check his tweets.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N was set to announce its proposal for
a phased reopening of its Orlando, Florida, theme parks to a
local task force on Wednesday. Its shares gained 1.1%.
Investor attention will now turn to the U.S. Federal
Reserve's Beige Book of economic condition scheduled for release
at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 2-to-1 on the
NYSE and matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and six new lows.