Stocks edged slightly higher in early trading Wednesday as tensions between the U.S. and China flare up again.
Major indexes edged up about 0.1% in the first few minutes of trading. The U.S. ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, saying it was necessary to protect American intellectual property, and China said it would retaliate.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 74.61 or 0.28% to 26,915.01.
The NASDAQ composite index was up 59.57 or 0.56% to 10,740.35.
The S&P 500 was down 9.82 or 0.29% to 3,267.71.
United Airlines sank after reporting that its revenue plunged 87% as the coronavirus throttled air travel. Pfizer rose after the U.S. government signed a contract with the company to deliver the first 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine it’s developing by December.
World shares were mostly lower Wednesday on renewed worries about surging coronavirus caseloads in many countries.
U.S. futures also edged lower, though President Donald Trump’s statement that the pandemic will likely get worse before it gets better had little impact, analysts said.
Germany’s DAX slipped 0.4% to 13,113, and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 1.2% to 5,044. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 6,216. U.S. futures were slightly lower, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.2%, while the Dow industrials future edged 0.3% lower.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 2%, to 25,131.50, after its health minister warned the city is at a high risk of an “outbreak in the community.” Authorities made wearing of masks on public transport and in public indoor areas mandatory as the number of confirmed cases pushed past 2,000.
Adding to unease was a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that the number of coronavirus cases in some states is much higher than has been reported. Experts have said all along that the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is much higher than tallies of confirmed cases would indicate, due to issues with testing and data collection.
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