Stocks End Lower; Tech Earnings Boost Afterhours: Markets Wrap
- Doubts about U.S. stimulus weighing on market sentiment
- Asian shares fall the most in two months as Hang Seng tumbles
WATCH: Shanti Kelemen, investment director at Brown Shipley & Co. Ltd., discusses the current state of markets and where she sees them heading.
(Source: Bloomberg)U.S. stocks ended an up-and-down session slightly lower, weighed down by worries over virus variants and hurdles to a fresh aid package. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 Index jumped afterhours following a strong earnings report from Microsoft Corp.
The S&P 500 dropped just over 0.1% on an uneventful day at the index level. Below the surface, sentiment continued to be driven in large part by the retail trading set. GameStop Corp. rallied another 92%, while Pitney Bowes Inc. jumped more than 80% after a comparison to the video-game retailer. Small-caps were among the worst performers as traders turned away from bets on an end to Covid lockdowns.