Dow closes at record as Bezos Sells $2.5 B in Amazon stock

The S&P 500 and Dow rose while the Nasdaq extended declines on Wednesday, with growth stocks adding to losses spurred after a key policymaker suggested interest rates might need to rise to prevent an economic overheating.

The Dow added nearly 100 points, or 0.3%, to reach all-time intraday and closing highs. The Nasdaq lost 0.4% on Wednesday after the index fell 1.9% during Tuesday’s regular session for its worst day since March.

The S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.4% for its fourth straight negative session and longest daily losing streak since October. The tech-heavy index and S&P 500 are each lower for the week.

The latest choppiness in the stock market is a sign of a “tired market,” one strategist commented, as investors search for new catalysts to propel the market after an already record-setting rally.

Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook were among the tech names that declined on Wednesday, each falling more than 1%. The stock of Honest Co climbed by 43.8% after the diaper and makeup company founded by actress Jessica Alba priced its initial public offering at $16 a share on Tuesday.

Several oil & gas plays EQT Corp. (EQT), Cimarex Energy (XEC), Callon Petroleum (CPE), Marathon Oil (MRO) reported earnings after the close. So did fertilizer maker CF Industries (CF), insecticide and herbicide specialist FMC Corp. (FMC), and crane maker Manitowoc (MTW). All closed near buy points.

PayPal (PYPL), Apple (AAPL), and 5G chipmaker Qorvo (QRVO), 10X Genomics (TXG), HubSpot (HUBS) also reported late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, news is that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sold around 739,000 shares this week under a pre-arranged trading plan, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Bezos sold about $2.5 billion of Amazon.com Inc. stock, his first big disposal this year after offloading more than $10 billion in 2020.

The Amazon founder has used stock sales to fund rocket company Blue Origin, while he’s committed $10 billion to the “Bezos Earth Fund” to help counter the effects of climate change.

In the 15 years after Amazon.com Inc. went public in 1997, Bezos sold about a fifth of the online retailer for roughly $2 billion.

The value of his stake has ballooned in recent years as Amazon stock surged meaning he can now sell relatively small amounts for billions of dollars. Amazon stock is little changed this year after rallying 76% in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic kept people away from physical stores and encouraged online shopping.

On the public health front, President Joe Biden announced a new goal of getting 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by the Fourth of July, along with having 160 million adults fully vaccinated by that holiday.