Wall Street opens mostly lower but tech stocks rebound

US stocks on Thursday flipped the script from earlier in the week, with many shares losing ground at the open but tech stocks rebounding in choppy trading amid concerns about spiking Covid-19 cases.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6 per cent to 29,234.45, about 40 minutes into the session, while the broader S&P 500 dipped 0.4 per cent to 3,559.75.

But the tech-dominated Nasdaq edged up 0.2 per cent to 11,809.43, easing back from the spike in the opening minutes but continuing the gains posted Wednesday.

The picture was the reverse of the situation Monday and Tuesday, when tech shares like Zoom and Netflix that have profited during the pandemic, lost ground after the hopeful announcement of progress on a coronavirus vaccine, while shares that suffered amid the shutdowns, like airlines and cruise companies, got a boost.

Analysts said some of those gains were overly exuberant and were now seeing investors selling to realize a profit while buying tech shares that appeared to be a bargain at lower prices.

But worrying news that Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations were nearing levels seen in the worst days of the pandemic also had investors on edge.

"We are looking at a choppy market today," Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital told AFP.

And while some good news in economic data might cheer markets, "we have a smashing new wave of Covid-19 cases so that could dampen sentiment."

In data, new applications for US jobless benefits plunged by 48,000 last week, a far bigger drop than analysts were expecting, taking the level down to 709,000, the Labor Department reported.

Meanwhile, inflation remains largely absent in the US economy, with the consumer price index (CPI) unchanged in October compared to September, and up just 1.2 per cent over the last 12 months, a decline from the prior month, according to a separate Labor Department report.

Patrick J. O'Hare of Briefing.com noted the market's realization that "the parabolic rise in coronavirus cases in the US, which could lead to some real economic damage in the interim before we have the benefit of a vaccine in widespread use."

Pfizer shares slipped 1.9 per cent while Zoom jumped 4.5 per cent.

Southwest Airlines lost 1.8 per cent after the company issued a downbeat statement about the outlook for the final weeks of the year, while Walt Disney, which reports quarterly earnings after the close, slipped 0.3 per cent.