By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – Wall Street climbed Monday, as a rise in large-cap tech stocks offset weakness in travel and tourism stocks following an ongoing rise in Covid-19 cases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.38%, or 97 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.52%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.94%.
As coronavirus infections worldwide mount, investors continued to bet that large-cap tech stocks are better placed to weather any potential disruptions to the economic reopening, and eventual recovery.
FAANG led the move higher in tech, powered by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) as Wall Street continued to back the tech giant despite its recent move to close 11 stores in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arizona in the wake of growing infections.
Cowen lifted its price target on Apple to $400 from $335, after raising its forecast for iPhone shipments ahead of the company's launch of a 5G iPhone later this fall.
The World Health Organization announced more than 183,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with parts of the U.S. recording a daily record for new infections since the start of the pandemic.
Florida reported 2,926 new cases on Monday morning, taking its toll of new infections above 100,000 after governments nationwide eased public health restrictions. Other hotspots including Texas and Arizona have also put many on high alert.
This week will prove important to get an overview of "where things are heading in states like Florida and Arizona and Texas… "whether or not they're tipping over into exponential growth," Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday.
The climb in tech helped the broader market offset weakness in travel and tourism stocks. Airlines and cruise companies, in particular, were shunned as the rise of infections, which threatens the pace of economic reopening, raised doubt over a rebound in travel demand.
United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) fell 1.1%, Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) was down 0.75%, while American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) slumped 7% after it announced plans to raise $3.5 billion in new financing.
TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) fell 1% after the company said it expects revenue in June will be just a fifth of revenue reported in the same period a year earlier.
Energy, meanwhile, also pushed the broader market higher, buoyed by higher oil prices as global oil producers tighten supply.
Elsewhere, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (NYSE:SPCE) surged 14% after it reached a deal with NASA to train astronauts for trips to the International Space Station.