Dow rises 100 points to another record, but sell-off in Big Tech drags Nasdaq down 2%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record high on Monday amid strong gains in energy stocks, building on the benchmark’s solid rally recently. Big Tech stocks came under pressure, however, weighing on the Nasdaq Composite.

The blue-chip gauge popped 250 points to an intraday record high, boosted by a jump in Dow Inc and Chevron shares. The S&P 500 traded near the flatline after closing at a record in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.

Investors bid up shares that stand to benefit the most from the economic recovery, including energy, financials and industrials.

Shares of energy stocks gained including Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy. Chevron was up 1.7%. Exxon was also higher.

Meanwhile, tech stocks pulled back from Friday’s big gains. Tesla dropped more than 4%. Facebook fell over 4%, while Alphabet dipped more than 2% after a downgrade by Citigroup. Amazon also slid more than 2%. Cathie Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF fell more than 4% to its lowest level since November.

“The tech price action is especially frustrating for many as the thought was Friday would elicit a more sustainable rebound in the space,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. “Instead, the group is seeing aggressive selling and accumulating technical damage as prices breach key levels.”

Technology stocks rallied on Friday after a far-weaker-than-expected April jobs report eased concerns about a policy change from the Federal Reserve. Tech stocks have been winning under the low-rates regime during the pandemic.

Last week, the Dow advanced 2.7% and the S&P 500 gained 1.2%. Despite a 0.9% rally on the week’s final session, the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.5% over the same period.

The stock market confirmed the “Dow Theory” bullish breakout last week when the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average reached new highs simultaneously.

Transportation stocks are widely viewed as a barometer of global economic activity. The rebound in these shares signals an accelerating recovery from the pandemic.

Still, April jobs report showed that U.S. employers added 266,000 net payrolls last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected 1 million additions.

Gasoline futures experienced volatile trading after a ransomware attack forced the closure of the largest U.S. fuel pipeline over the weekend. Colonial Pipeline, which operates a 5,500-mile system, said Monday afternoon that parts of its system are being brought back online, and it hopes to restore service by the end of the week.