The S&P 500 and TSX Composite closed lower Monday, as the start of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out in the United States and Canada offered some respite to investors, but spikes in infection and death rates tempered optimism.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 161.52 points, or 0.92%, at 17,387.40. The heavyweight energy, financials, and materials sectors all posted relatively steep declines, falling 2.16%, 1.06%, and 1.85%, respectively.
The decline in energy stocks occurred despite steady oil prices, as persistent oversupply in the market largely offset hopes that a rollout of coronavirus vaccines will lift global fuel demand. Brent crude futures for February ended the session 32 cents, or 0.6%, higher at $50.29 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January settled up 42 cents, or 0.9%, at $46.99 a barrel. Prices slid more than 1% earlier in the session after OPEC said global oil demand would rebound more slowly in 2021 than previously thought because of the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic, hampering efforts by the group and its allies to support the market.
U.S. officials began to administer the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Monday following emergency-use approval from federal regulators last week. In Canada, a long-term care resident in Quebec and a nursing home worker in Ontario received the country’s first COVID-19 vaccinations.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high before ending lower, pulled down by Walt Disney. Shares of Disney, down 3.65%, and Pfizer, down almost 5%, weighed more than any other stocks on the S&P 500.
The index’s four-day losing streak was its longest since Sept. 21.
The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index was the strongest gainer among sector indexes, up 1% and lifted by a rise in Amazon, up 1.4%. The energy index tumbled over 3%.
The S&P 500 gave up earlier gains of almost 1%. The index has surged about 13% to record highs in 2020, despite the pandemic, which has wrought economic devastation and killed more than a million people.
“While the entire market is pleased, is optimistic, is bullish about the arrival of the vaccine this morning into the U.S., I think the average investor is realizing that this roll-out, this distribution of the vaccine is not going to be a silver bullet, is not going to go as fast as one hopes,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc was among the top boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, surging about 30% to a 4-1/2 year high after British drugmaker AstraZeneca said it would buy the U.S. biotech firm. AstraZeneca’s U.S.-listed shares dropped 8%.
Walt Disney fell after BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock following its recent gains and said Netflix was again its “top pick.” Netflix climbed almost 4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.48% to end at 29,900.96 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.32% to 3,651.92. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.61% to 12,453.96.
Also on Monday, negotiators in the U.S. Congress neared agreement on a massive government spending deal that would avert a government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats insisted they want to pass a fresh round of aid to a coronavirus-hit nation.
Investors continued to focus on early voting in a pair of U.S. Senate races in Georgia that will determine control of the chamber and heavily influence lawmaking.
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc rallied almost 5% as anticipation of its addition to the S&P 500 benchmark next week offset a report of production delays.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.4 billion shares, compared with the 11.5 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.08-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 211 new highs and 15 new lows.
The February gold contract was down US$11.50 at US$1,832.10 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 0.15 of a cent at nearly US$3.53 a pound.
Also see: Stocks that saw action on Monday - and why
Reuters, Globe staff
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