US stocks lose steam as Apple re-closes some stores

NEW YORK (AFP) - The Dow and S&P 500 finished lower on Friday (June 19), giving up early gains after Apple announced that due to rising coronavirus cases, it would close some stores that had reopened.

All three major Wall Street indices still finished up for the week, but the broad-based Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.8 percent at 25,871.46, while the S&P 500 shed 0.6 per cent to 3,097.74.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished narrowly positive, rising less than 0.1 per cent to 9,946.12.

Stocks enjoyed a strong morning, but lost ground after Apple said it was re-closing 11 stores in Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, states where Covid-19 cases are rising.

Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors said Apple's move reflects "the way this virus cycles geographically" and shouldn't meaningfully affect the outlook for the US.

"We have some major things that can be working toward improvement," Ogg said, pointing to the bounce from reopening the economy and rising strength in the housing market.

Among individual companies, AMC Entertainment fell 2.1 per cent as it reversed course on its safety policy, saying it would require face masks of all customers after its planned July reopening. The company previously said it would defer to local government policy.

Cruise companies Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line all lost more than 5 per cent following an announcement from the Cruise Line International Association trade group saying it was voluntarily extending a suspension of operations through Sept 15, beyond the July 24 restriction from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.