Lockdown News Quakes Wall Street, USD Boosted

Renewed concerns about COVID-19 in the face of looming European lockdowns impacted a range of sectors Friday, pushing stocks and oil down. This latest news boosts the US dollar.

Stocks have been shaken in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and major indexes were on track for a mixed finish to an uneven week.

The S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1% as of 11:12 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 192 points, or 0.5%, to 35,678 and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%. Smaller-company stocks fell more than the broader market. The Russell 2000 fell 0.5%.

Technology stocks made solid gains. TurboTax maker Intuit jumped 9% after raising its profit forecast for its fiscal year. Software maker Adobe rose 3.5%. Several big communications also rose and helped offset losses elsewhere in the market. Facebook parent Meta gained 1.8% and Netflix rose 1.1%.

Moderna jumped 4.2% and Pfizer added 1.1% after the Food and Drug Administration opened up coronavirus booster shots from the two companies to all adults.