S&P 500 Worries Its Way Higher on More Record Jobless Claims: Darden's New Dividend, Carmax Crash, United COVID Testing
The S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) closed up 9.7 points, a modest 0.3% gain that belies how volatile the trading session was on Sept. 24. There were multiple periods in morning trading when the index was down, followed by a big midday run that sent stocks up over 1.2% just before 2 p.m. EDT. Yet by 3:30 p.m. EDT those positive gains were erased, and the index looked poised to close lower. But a late rally pulled stocks out of the red and kept the S&P 500 out of correction -- meaning a 10% or more decline from a recent high -- territory for at least one more day as individual stocks finished trading mostly mixed.
Between persistently high unemployment and surging coronavirus cases that have the economic recovery stalling, continued gridlock on support from Congress, and worries about the upcoming Presidential election, today's mixed, volatile trading could prove the norm in the weeks and months ahead. Today's biggest movers were restaurateur Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI), with shares up 8% after starting its dividend back up, while shares of CarMax (NYSE: KMX) fell 11% after the company reported second-quarter earnings that were actually pretty good.
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Source Fool.com