Stocks are drifting higher on Wall Street Tuesday, steadying themselves a day after tumbling amid a raft of worries about the pandemic and governments’ response to it.
The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher on the heels of its first four-day losing streak since the market was selling off in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 102 points, or 0.4%, at 27,250 as of 2:13 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.3%.
Trading remains erratic, though, and indexes swung from small gains to losses through the morning. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 bounced between a gain of 1.1% and a loss of 0.4%, for example.
Wall Street has suddenly lost momentum in September following months of powerful gains that returned the S&P 500 to a record. A long list of concerns for investors has caused big swings in the market, from worries that stocks have grown too expensive to frustration about Congress’ refusal so far to deliver more aid to the struggling economy.
“Right now it’s kind of reality is setting in, looking at valuations and realizing that coronavirus is still prevalent, we don’t have a vaccine and we don’t know who’s going to be in the White House in 2021,” said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest.