US stocks decline as China Covid-19 angst weighs on sentiment

NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks finished lower on Monday, despite a surge in Disney shares, as markets fretted over the implications of China’s latest Covid-19 wave.

China has reported its first coronavirus death in six months as country officials contend with another uptick in infections.

Some of

Beijing’s largest shopping malls were closed on Sunday,

while others reduced opening hours or banned table service at restaurants, as officials urged residents to avoid non-essential travel.

“There is a bit of a risk-off sentiment today,” said investment strategist Angelo Kourkafas at Edward Jones.

“There is no US data. But there are some headlines about the worsening Covid-19 trends in China, which are adding to global growth concerns,” he added.

Investors expect subdued trading during the week, which includes the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

This is traditionally a “quiet” stretch for markets, Mr Kourkafas said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1 per cent lower at 33,700.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.4 per cent to 3,949.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 per cent to 11,024.51.

Among individual companies, Disney jumped 6.3 per cent as it ousted Mr Bob Chapek as chief executive and said it would bring back long-time former chief Bob Iger as it struggles to boost the financial performance of its streaming business.

Markets will be closed on Thursday, and the exchanges will end Friday’s session early.

Ahead of that, investors will digest minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting and a bevy of economic data, including durable goods orders for October. AFP