US Stocks Close Mixed, Nasdaq Rallies, While the Dow Dropped

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Published: Apr 13, 2020, 20:02 UTC

Amazon shares soar on new hires

US Stocks Close Mixed, Nasdaq Rallies, While the Dow Dropped

US stocks were mixed on Monday with technology shares outperforming and the Dow Industrials underperforming. All sectors in the S&P 500 index, led down by real-estate shares, consumer cyclical was the best performing sector. Amazon shares were the second-best performing company in the S&P 500 index behind Netflix. Both high tech companies have been benefiting from strong forecasted gains do to “shelter in place” orders. President Trump tweeted on Monday that he is in control of when the country would open back up for business, not the governors of individual states.

Amazon is Looking to Continue to Hire

Amazon shares surged as the company announced that it will begin allowing third-party sellers on its platform to resume shipping so-called nonessential items this week, a signal that the company is ramping up to meet broader consumer needs. Last month, Amazon made a decision to prioritize at its warehouses those items deemed essential during the coronavirus outbreak, such as cleaning products, health-care items and shelf-stable food.

In addition, Amazon announced that it was hiring an additional 75,000 employees to help fill the mounting demand. Over the past month, the online retailer has hired more than 100,000 people in full- and part-time jobs in distribution centers and across its delivery network in the U.S.

President Trump Says He Will Control the Reopening of the US Economy

President Trump sought to centralize control over the coronavirus response in the US saying that the federal government, not governors, would make the final decision about sending Americans back to work and reopening businesses. The biggest issues will be getting the hardest hit states to reopen. New York and California combined make up more than 23% of the US economy. Texas makes up nearly 9%, but with oil prices tumbling, the opening of that economy is unlikely to add much to the total overall GDP of the United States.

About the Author

David Beckerauthor

David Becker focuses his attention on various consulting and portfolio management activities at Fortuity LLC, where he currently provides oversight for a multimillion-dollar portfolio consisting of commodities, debt, equities, real estate, and more.