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* American Airlines to raise $3.5 bln in new financing
* Virgin Galactic rises on deal for private space missions
* Indexes up: Dow 0.28%, S&P 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.81%
(Updates to late afternoon, adds commentary, changes byline,
adds New York dateline)
By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three major
indexes gained ground on Monday with the biggest boost from
technology stocks as investors appeared to look past the
potential economic impact of rising coronavirus cases in the
United States and other major economies.
The World Health Organization reported a record rise in
global coronavirus cases on Sunday, driving demand for perceived
safe havens including gold and longer-term U.S. Treasuries.
US/ GOL/
While New York City on Monday celebrated the lifting of many
coronavirus restrictions, a dozen states in the U.S. South and
Southwest reported record increases in new cases with 10% to 20%
of people testing positive in some. However White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC
earlier in the day that there was no second wave of the pandemic
and that it is unlikely there will be widespread shutdowns
across the country. Investors were also looking past the current quarter and
into 2021, when earnings are expected to start improving
according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
Analysts expect a 42.7% drop in earnings per share for the
second quarter, according to estimates gathered by Refinitiv.
"It can't get much worse than this. People are hoping that
and concluding that you can't injure yourself by falling out of
a basement window," said Stovall.
But he asked, "How can you really get optimistic about what
you don't know? ... Wall Street looks to the other side of the
valley but we still don't know how low or wide the valley is."
At 2:18 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 72.31 points, or 0.28%, to 25,943.77, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 12.51 points, or 0.40%, to 3,110.25 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 80.83 points, or 0.81%, to 10,026.96.
Of the S&P's 11 major sectors, technology was leading with
a 1.6% gain. However the next biggest gainer was the defensive
utilities .SPLRCU sector, up 1.3%, suggesting that investors
were not throwing all caution to the wind.
The market took a step back on Friday after Apple Inc's
AAPL.O move to temporarily shut some U.S. stores again
underscored concerns of a delay in the recovery.
But Apple shares were up more than 2% on Monday and trading
at record highs as the company announced new products at its
annual conference for software developers.
Travel-related stocks were some of the weakest as investors
in those companies have been hit hard in the past by the virus
lockdowns.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR dropped 0.7%, while
shares of cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N and
Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL.N both tumbled about 7%.
The S&P 500 has climbed some 42% from its March lows and the
Nasdaq hit a record high earlier this month thanks to trillions
of dollars in monetary and fiscal support, the reopening of
businesses and improving economic data.
The S&P 500 was last about 8% off its Feb. 19 record high.
U.S.-based meat processor Tyson Inc TSN.N slipped 2.8% as
China's customs authority suspended imports of poultry products
from a plant owned by the company that had been hit by the
coronavirus. American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O fell 7% as it planned to
secure $3.5 billion in new financing by selling shares and
convertible senior notes to boost liquidity. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE.N soared 12.5% as it
signed up with NASA to develop a program to promote private
missions to the International Space Station. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.06-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.04-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 110 new highs and seven new lows.