Morning Report 17 Feb 21: US stocks moderate in the face of rising oil prices & interest rates

US sharemarkets hit fresh record highs during Tuesday's trading session. S&P 500 sectors poised to benefit most from a reopening economy, including energy (+2.2%) and financials (+1.8%), gained most. The S&P 500 banking index lifted 2.8% as 10-year US Treasury yields jumped. But technology heavyweights Apple (-1.6%), Microsoft (-0.5%) and Tesla (-2.4%) weighed on the Nasdaq index. And the limited supply of Covid-19 vaccines and slow rollout of Johnson & Johnson's (-0.8%) shot heightened investor caution. The Dow Jones index rose by 64 points or 0.2% to a record closing high. But the S&P 500 index fell by 0.1% and the Nasdaq index lost 48 points or 0.3%.

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