NEW YORK: U.S. stocks are wobbling on Thursday, following more evidence that the pandemic is tightening its grip on the economy and as investors wait to see if Congress will do anything about it.
The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading after erasing an early loss of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9 points, or less than 0.1%, at 30,062, as of 9:58 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.
Treasury yields swayed up and down but were holding relatively steady after a report showed 853,000 U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. That was more than economists expected and an acceleration from the prior week. Its also the latest reminder that the pandemic is doing more damage to the economy in the near term, even if prospects are rising that a COVID-19 vaccine will get the economy healthy in the longer term.
Economists and investors have been imploring Congress to deliver more financial support in the meantime, to help carry the economy until it can stand on its own. After months of partisan bickering and no progress on Capitol Hill, momentum seemed to swing higher recently for a deal. But talks are still mired in deep uncertainty. A bipartisan group of senators has made one proposal, while the White House has made another.
Through this pandemic, when investors have been worried about the health of the overall economy, theyve often piled into Big Tech stocks for safety. Profits for these companies have proven more resilient to stay-at-home orders, and theyre benefiting from an acceleration of work-from-home and other trends.
But some big internet stocks were nevertheless weaker on Thursday. A day earlier, the U.S. government and 48 states and districts sued Facebook, accusing it of abusing its market power. Its shares dipped 0.5% in morning trading.
Google’s parent company fell 1.2%.
In Europe, stock markets were subdued even though the European Central Bank delivered another half-trillion of euros ($600 billion) in stimulus for the economy. Coronavirus counts are also spiraling higher on the continent, and its central bank is promising to buy more bonds to push the economy along. Germanys DAX lost 0.8%, and Frances CAC 40 fell 0.3%. The FTSE 100 in London edged up by 0.2%.
In Asia, markets made modest moves. Japans Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2%, South Koreas Kospi fell 0.3% and Hong Kongs Hang Seng dipped 0.3%. Stocks in Shanghai were virtually unchanged.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 0.92% from 0.93% late Wednesday .A government report released Thursday morning showed that inflation was slightly stronger last month than economists expected, though it still remains modest.
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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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