S&P retreats from record on mixed day for US stocks

December 29, 2021: Wall Street stocks ended mixed Tuesday as a holiday rally showed signs of fatigue and US health authorities eased requirements on Covid-19 quarantine time.

Airline shares were the chief beneficiary of an announcement late Monday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cut the isolation period for asymptomatic Covid-19 cases in half to five days "followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others." But markets were otherwise muted during a week of low trading volumes and relatively light news flow.

"You don't have a trend going one way or the other," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors.

The broad-based S&P 500, which set new records in the previous two sessions, finished down 0.1 percent at 4,786.35.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent to close at 36,398.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.6 percent to 15,781.72.

American, Delta and United airlines all gained 1.5 percent or more in the session, recouping some of their losses after canceling thousands of flights over Christmas weekend as infections sapped staff.

Stocks have been on the upswing over the last week as investors bet the latest Covid-19 strain will be less damaging than earlier strains.

Moody's economist Mark Zandi predicted the Omicron wave will dent growth in the first quarter, but "not have a material impact" on 2022 growth overall because of a rebound later in the year, he said in a note.

"Even after the Omicron wave abates, there will almost surely be others. But we expect each new wave to be less disruptive to the healthcare system and economy than the wave before it," Zandi said.

"An increasingly vaccinated population, booster shots, and new antiviral medications and therapies should help ensure that while many more people will get sick, there will be fewer hospitalizations and deaths."

AFP/APP