Thursday's early trade: Nasdaq loses ground as heavyweights slump

The Nasdaq lost ground sharply in late morning trade on Thursday, dragged down by market heavyweights Apple and Amazon, as investors poured money into others sectors that may benefit from Donald Trump's victory in the US election. The S&P 500 reversed course to trade slightly lower, while the Dow pared gains after hitting a record intraday high earlier in the session.
Some parts of the market, such as health, industrials and banks are likely to benefit from Trump's policies of tax cuts, higher fiscal spending and simplifying regulations. But the possibility of Trump slapping punitive tariffs on Chinese and Mexican exports, risking a global trade war, have worried investors. "Tech stocks aren't really in the handbook," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.
"They aren't really going to benefit from Trump's stimulus spending on infrastructure and are sort of sitting in the middle. They aren't part of the oversold sectors such as banks and health nor are they high dividend paying stocks that getting sold off."
Apple was down 3.2 percent at $107.30, while Amazon was off 5 percent. The S&P 500 technology index plunged 2.5 percent and was on track for its worst day since the Brexit vote in June. "Tech has the most important export exposure of any sector, so there are some fears of rising trade barriers that would hit tech pretty meaningfully," said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners.
Financial and healthcare stocks rose, continuing to hold their positions as the top performers in the post-Trump victory rally. At 10:42 am ET (1442 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 106.49 points, or 0.57 percent, at 18,696.18. The S&P 500 was down 5.38 points, or 0.25 percent, at 2,157.88 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 85.20 points, or 1.62 percent, at 5,165.87. Macy's rose 6.7 percent to $41.01 after the department store operator raised its full-year sales forecast and announced a partnership to monetize some of its real-estate assets. IBM provided the biggest boost to the Dow, rising 2.7 percent to $159.02, after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock and raised its price target.