At important stock market indicators in New York, records went into the books again on Tuesday, although minimal price gains. Investors seemed to put aside concerns about the perhaps overvaluation of some stocks.
But at the same time, the rapid advance of the Delta variant of the coronavirus weighed on sentiment in many countries again. Furthermore, more positive expectations from the World Bank about the growth of the Chinese economy were chewed on.
The broad S&P 500 index traded a fraction higher at 4291.80 points, and tech exchange Nasdaq gained 0.2 percent to 14,528.34 points. Only the Dow-Jones index did not end with a closing record. Instead, that indicator rose slightly to 34,292.29 points.
The Delta variant of the virus is emerging in more and more countries. The variant that first appeared in India now slows down or reverses easing. Investors are closely following the figures on this, as new strict measures could harm the economic recovery. This does not seem to be the case in China. The World Bank raised the growth expectations for that country and is now counting on the growth of the Chinese economy of 8.5 percent for this year.
American banks were also in the spotlight. After a successful stress test by the Federal Reserve, they will soon be able to buy back their own shares, and they immediately took advantage of that. For example, Morgan Stanley will buy back its own shares for $ 12 billion, and Goldman Sachs is increasing its dividend payment. Investors liked those plans and put the financial institutions more than 3 and more than 1 percent higher, respectively.
There was also other company news. United Airlines ordered 270 new aircraft from Boeing (minus 1.8 percent) and Airbus. The airline wants to focus more on travellers who want to pay more for space and luxury onboard and was lowered by almost 1 percent. Walmart also lost just under 1 percent after the retailer announced it would be marketing insulin under its own name. It should be much cheaper than pharmaceutical companies.