US Stocks fall from record highs

The US stocks were mostly down on Monday, 09 August 2021, dragging the Dow and the NASDAQ indexes into negative terrain from record high closing last week, amid concerns about the latest COVID-19 wave with the Delta variant leading to a spike in infections in states with low vaccination rates.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index dropped 106.66 points, or 0.3%, to 35,101.85. The S&P 500 index fell 4.17 points, or 0.09%, to 4,432.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 24.42 points, or 0.16%, to 14,860.18.

Total 7 of 11 S&P 500 sectors declined, with energy (down 1.48%) sector was worst performer, followed by materials (down 0.42%), industrials (down 0.4%), and information technology (down 0.35%) sectors, while healthcare (up 0.38%) sector was top gainer followed by financials (up 0.3%) and consumer staples (up 0.3%) sectors.

Total volume turnover on U.S. exchanges was 7.84 billion shares, up from previous session volume of 7.77 billion shares. In the NYSE exchange, 1251 issues advanced, 2039 issues declined, and 164 issues closed unchanged. In the NASDAQ, 2054 issues advanced, 2286 issues declined, and 219 issues unchanged.

Top five advancing stocks were Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc (up 50.77%), Cortexyme Inc (up 47.32%), Select Interior Concepts Inc (up 29.79%), Liminal BioSciences Inc (up 27.62%), and Allied Healthcare Products Inc (up 22.82%), while bottom five declining stocks included Axsome Therapeutics Inc (down 46.5%), Aterian Inc (down 33.3%), BioVie Inc (down 29.96%), bluebird bio Inc (down 27.45%), and Moxian Inc (down 20.79%).

Shares of energy sector were worst performer, dragged down by decline in crude oil prices. Oil prices fell as much as 4%, extending last week's steep losses on a rising U.S. dollar and concerns that Delta variant-related restrictions in Asia could slow a global recovery in fuel demand. U.S. crude oil futures settled at $66.48 per barrel, down $1.80 or 2.6%. Brent crude ended at $69.04, down $1.66 or 2.4%.

Shares of pharma players advanced, with Moderna up 17.1% and Pfizer up 2% as more governments and employers impose vaccine requirements. The Pentagon plans to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all members of the U.S. military by mid-September, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Shares of consumer staples companies rose, led by Tyson Foods, up 8.7%, as it projected higher than expected 2021 sales after reporting increased profits in the quarter ending July.

Among Indian ADR, HDFC Bank added 1.62% to $75.16, Dr Reddys Labs added 0.12% to $64.45, INFOSYS rose 0.31% to $22.88, Wipro added 0.12% to $8.49 and ICICI Bank added 0.68% to $19.15. Vedanta fell 1.66% to $16.57, Tata Motors declined 1.19% to $19.87, and WNS Holdings fell 0.15% to $82.28.

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