Stock indexes closed at record highs on Wall Street Monday, despite rising coronavirus infections in the US and around the globe, as well as geopolitical concerns including the collapse of the Afghanistan government. The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both closed higher after falling earlier in the day. Shares of Tesla fell 4.3% after the US government began investigating the company’s automated driving feature following a series of collisions with parked vehicles. Oil prices fell and weighed down energy companies. The S&P 500 rose 11.65 points, or 0.3%, to 4,479.65. The Dow Jones rose 110.02 points, or 0.3%, to 35,625.40. The Nasdaq fell 29.14 points, or 0.2%, to 14,793.76.
Investors shifted money into sectors traditionally considered lower risk, including utilities and companies that make food and personal goods. Gains in health care and technology stocks also helped offset a slide in banks, energy companies, and elsewhere in the market, the AP reports. The travel sector, retailers, and companies that provide in-person services had some of the worst losses. Stocks have been pushing to ever higher records the past couple of weeks even amid choppy trading as investors try to gauge the impact of rising virus cases. Analysts had expected economic growth to slow from its breakneck pace earlier this year, but the highly contagious delta variant has prompted even more caution from investors. "Delta is ending up being a cascading concern," says Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
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