By Liz Moyer
Investing.com --U.S. stocks were struggling for direction after new Covid-19 lockdowns in China brought back fears of a global growth slowdown.
At 10:28 ET (15:28 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86 points or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and NASDAQ Composite was down 0.9%.
China is locking down a major transportation hub in a district of Guangzhou, which is battling to control an outbreak of cases. Shares of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA) fell 3.6%.
Travel stocks reacted negatively, with shares of Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) falling 3.3% and shares of major airlines such as United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) were down 0.6%.
The airline sector in the U.S. will face a big test this week with people traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday. A shortage of pilots and airport staff, bad weather, and a surge of passengers this summer led to cancellations and problems with baggage handling.
Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) shares jumped 7% after the company announced Bob Iger would return as CEO, taking over from Bob Chapek effective immediately.
Later this week, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its most recent meeting, and analysts and investors will read closely for any clues as to the central bank’s thinking heading into its last meeting of the year.
Many analysts are forecasting the Fed will raise rates again in December, but at a slightly smaller half-percentage point increment than at its four most recent meetings.
Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 5.4% to $75.78 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures was down 5.4%, to $82.92 a barrel. Gold Futures fell 0.8% to $1,739.