Wall Street rises to new record high and more business news

In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, a sign for Wall Street is carved in the side of a building, in New York. Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street, Friday, May 21, 2021, bringing the S&P 500 out of the red for the week. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
In this Nov. 5, 2020 file photo, a sign for Wall Street is carved in the side of a building, in New York. Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street, Friday, May 21, 2021, bringing the S&P 500 out of the red for the week. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Wall Street rises to new record high

A choppy day on Wall Street ended Monday with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notching new highs after recovering from an early slide. The indexes each rose 0.3%, extending their winning streak to a fifth day, while the Nasdaq fell 0.2%.

Technology and health care stocks accounted for much of the gain in the S&P 500. Sectors traditionally considered lower risk, including utilities and companies that make food and personal goods also helped lift the market. Those gains outweighed a pullback in banks, energy stocks and a swath of retailers and travel sector companies.

Despite the latest gains, there are signs that investors have turned cautious with the market at all-time highs amid rising coronavirus infections in the U.S.

China growth slows due to virus, floods

China's economic growth will soften this year due to summer flooding and anti-coronavirus controls, an official said Monday, after consumer sales and other activity weakened in July.

China's economy still is in a "recovery trend" from last year's pandemic-induced slowdown but is likely to weaken after a relatively strong first half, said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics.

"This year's main economic growth trend will be 'low after high,'" Fu said at a news conference.

Fu gave no growth forecast. Private sector forecasters say the world's second-largest economy should easily achieve 8% growth over last year's depressed level.

Hyatt Hotels to buy Apple Leisure Group

Hyatt Hotels will buy resort-management company Apple Leisure Group from two private equity firms for $2.7 billion.

Apple Leisure manages about 100 resorts with more than 33,000 rooms in 10 countries. The acquisition will double Hyatt's presence in the resort business, the company said.

Travel has surged this year with the arrival of vaccines for COVID-19, but mostly leisure travel. Hyatt is trying to capitalize on that increased mobility.

Hyatt announced the deal with affiliates of private equity firms KKR and KSL Capital Partners on Sunday and said it will close in the fourth quarter.

Apple Leisure's manages Secrets, Dreams and Breathless resorts. It also operates tour packages to Mexico and the Caribbean.

Hyatt, based in Chicago, said it will fund the purchase from cash including the sale of $2 billion in assets and has a $1.7 billion financing commitment from J.P. Morgan.

Alaska Airlines orders more Boeing built jets

Betting big on a recovery in air travel and on the Boeing 737 MAX as the jet for its future, Alaska Airlines on Monday announced a firm order for a dozen more MAXs - its third order for the airplane since the Federal Aviation Administration ungrounded the jet in November.

"These aircraft are a prudent, long-term investment in our business," said Nat Pieper, Alaska Airlines senior vice president in charge of fleet planning. "We are excited to accelerate Alaska's growth."

In December, Alaska ordered 23 Boeing MAXs to add to the 45 it already had on order, with purchase options to buy an additional 52 MAXs on good financial terms later.

In May, it exercised options to add 13 more MAXs while also buying 17 Embraer E175 regional jets as it anticipated an easing of the pandemic and a summer surge in air travel.

- Compiled by Dave Flessner

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