S&P 500 Hits Another Record High... Biogen, Subject to Samsung Acquisition Rumors, Rises 9%

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] As the year 2021 trading comes to a close, a positive breeze is blowing through the New York stock market. The S&P 500 index recorded its 70th all-time high this year. Although the Nasdaq fell slightly, the decline was not significant.

On the 29th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.42 points (0.25%) to close at 36,488.63, the S&P 500 index increased by 6.71 points (0.14%) to 4,793.06, and the Nasdaq index fell 15.51 points (0.10%) to close at 15,766.22.

The Dow index succeeded in rising for six consecutive trading days, suggesting that the recent market trend is shifting towards cyclical stocks.

On that day, the US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.55%, putting a brake on tech stocks' gains. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The assessment that the Omicron variant's impact on the market is not significant is interpreted as having led to a decline in Treasury prices. A rise in Treasury yields means a fall in Treasury prices. The increased possibility of an early rate hike was also identified as a factor driving the rise in Treasury yields.

Due to concerns that flight suspensions might be imposed amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, shares of cruise companies Carnival and Norwegian Cruise fell about 0.5% and 1.5%, respectively. Airline stocks such as Delta and United were also weak.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, sold Tesla shares worth $1.02 billion, nearly completing the sale of 10% of his stake, but Tesla's stock price fell about 0.2%.

Apple, approaching a market capitalization of $3 trillion, closed flat. Semiconductor stocks AMD and Nvidia, which had shown recent strength, were also weak.

Pharmaceutical company Biogen rose 9% after reports of a Samsung acquisition. The sharp rise in Biogen's stock led to gains across the medical and pharmaceutical sectors.

Alibaba closed down 2% after news emerged that it is negotiating the sale of its stake in the social media company Weibo.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.