By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow moved off session lows on Monday, as declines in cyclical stocks were offset by strength in technology ahead of a busy week of market-moving data from big tech.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.33%, or 101 points, though had been down more than 300 points intraday. The S&P 500 was up 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.50%.
Financials and energy were among the biggest cyclical sectors in the red, with the latter led lower by weaker oil prices amid ongoing worries over pandemic-fueled weakness in crude.
National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and TechnipFMC (NYSE:FTI) were down sharply, with the latter down more 6%.
Banks, meanwhile, continued to drag financials lower, extending the trend following their post-earnings weakness as global growth concerns surfaced amid rising restrictions.
Biden is expected to sign a travel ban Monday on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who were recently in South Africa, and on non-U.S. citizens from the U.K. and Brazil, in a bid to prevent the new virus strains identified in those countries from becoming prevalent in this country.
Airlines also fell sharply as growing restrictions will likely prolong the recovery in global travel demand. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) fell more than 2%, while United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) slipped 4%.
The fading prospect of a quick roll out of further stimulus has dimmed amid Republican opposition. Democrats are unlikely to get the 10 Republican votes needed to advance Biden’s $1.9 trillion plan.
“We believe the size of this bill would likely prove challenging to garner bipartisan support. The provision of increasing the minimum wage to $15 is already facing resistance from the Republicans. We anticipate that the Biden administration may divide the bill into separate packages,” Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said in a note.
Tech, meanwhile, kept the downside in the broader market in check as the Fab 5 traded mostly positive ahead of a big week. Microsoft reports earnings on Tuesday after the closing bell, while Apple and Facebook are set to report earnings on Wednesday.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) traded higher, while Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was lower.
In other news, GameStop (NYSE:GME) was up 27%, pairing some of its 120% intraday surge, as the short-squeeze continues. AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) rallied 29% after it clinched a new financing deal that easing its liquidity woes, allowing the movie theatre operator to continue without filing for bankruptcy.