Stocks extended gains Friday afternoon as the three major averages ended the week on a high note. Equities had fallen on Thursday as a record jump in U.S. COVID-19 cases, renewed stimulus concerns and tempered vaccine hopes all came into play.
The Dow added about 400 points, or 1.4%, and posted a weekly advance of more than 4%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.4% on Friday to a record closing high of 3,585.18, topping its previous record closing level from early September by about 5 points. The index rose about 2.2% on the week. The Nasdaq also eked out a weekly advance of just under 1%, as the tech-heavy index more than made up its losses from earlier this week.
In the U.S., the coronavirus situation worsened yet again as new cases soared to a one-day record of more than 150,000 on Wednesday alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins and Bloomberg. The surging case counts have led a number of individual states and localities to impose new restrictions and curfew to try and rein in the spread. Chicago on Thursday issued a new 30-day advisory urging citizens to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings. And daily cases in New York – once the U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic – topped 5,000 for the first time since April as of Thursday.
“The market is grappling right now with some short-term pressures versus some longer-term hopes,” Jack Manley, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday. “We got that really good news earlier this week on the vaccine, and that means that the light at the end of the tunnel that we always knew was kind of there, I think, has a little more of a firm position than it had prior to that announcement.”
“At the same time though, we do have this new case activity, we’re going through that third wave, it’s worse than the second one which was, in and of itself, worse than the first,” he added. “It may mean some unwinding of some of the reopening activity, it may hurt fourth-quarter growth a little bit. It may hurt fourth quarter profits a little bit. But at the end of the day, I still think the vaccine is the big news, it’s the big picture item, and while I think it may be tough over the next few months as we go through this next wave of the pandemic, I think investors should still be pretty optimistic about what the future holds.”
Hopes dimmed further that lawmakers in Washington might come up with a stimulus deal before the end of the year to help offset some of the expected additional economic strain from the pandemic. The Trump administration has reportedly offloaded its role in leading stimulus negotiations to Congress, leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to re-start discussions after an already months-long impasse.
Earnings results also flowed in after market close Thursday. Shares of Disney (DIS) rose 3.5% after the company reported a narrower loss than feared and a bigger jump in subscribers than expected for its one-year-old streaming service Disney+. And Cisco’s stock (CSCO), a Dow component, jumped more than 6.5% on the heels of quarterly earnings and guidance that topped estimates, as corporate spending on networking equipment picked back up. Palantir (PLTR) shares ticked higher after the company topped sales expectations in its first-ever quarterly report as a public company, though net losses surged as compensation costs increased.
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4:06 p.m. ET: S&P 500 rallies to a record close as Wall Street caps off strong week of trading
Here’s where the three major indices settled at the end of the regular session:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): +48.14 points (+1.36%) to 3,585.15
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +119.7 points (+1.02%) to 11,829.29
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2:35 p.m. ET: Crude oil settles lower on the day, but jumps 8% over last week after initial vaccine-fueled risk rally
U.S. West Texas intermediate crude oil futures (CL=F) fell 2.3% to settle at $40.13 per barrel on Friday, paring some gains from earlier in the week.
Still, however, the commodity posted a gain of more than 8% for the week. Positive news of Pfizer’s vaccine candidate on Monday pushed oil prices sharply higher for three straight days, as investors hoped that an inoculation against the coronavirus might spur a broader economic reopening and increased demand for energy for travel.
Oil prices remain lower by more than 30% for the year to date.
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12:32 p.m. ET: Stocks hold higher despite virus worries
The three major indices held in strongly positive territory Friday afternoon, even as concerns over rising virus cases in the U.S. lingered.
Cyclical stocks including energy and industrials shares led gains in the S&P 500, as investors again looked to pick up shares that had fallen sharply over the course of the pandemic. Information technology and consumer staples stocks lagged.
Shares of Cisco led the Dow higher intraday, followed by Boeing and American Express. The 30-stock index added more than 270 points, or 0.9%, to make up some losses from Thursday. Both the S&P 500 and Dow were on track to post weekly gains, though the Nasdaq looked to post a weekly loss after a rout in tech stocks on Monday and Tuesday.
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10:00 a.m. ET: Consumer sentiment unexpectedly drops in November as economic concerns worsened amid turbulent election
The headline index dropped to the lowest level since August, as subindices tracking consumers’ assessments of current conditions and future expectations each deteriorated during the month.
“The outcome of the presidential election as well as the resurgence in covid infections and deaths were responsible for the early November decline,” Richard Curtin, chief economist for the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement. “Interviews conducted following the election recorded a substantial negative shift in the Expectations Index among Republicans, but recorded no gain among Democrats.”
“It is likely that Democrats' fears about the COVID resurgence offset gains in economic expectations: 59% of Democrats reported that their normal life had changed to a great extent due to the coronavirus compared with just 34% among Republicans,” he added. “The gap in expectations closed somewhat due to the coronavirus and the partisan shift in expectations that began well before the election. Note that Republicans now voice the least favorable economic expectations since Trump took office, and Democrats have voiced more positive expectations.”
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9:45 a.m. ET: DraftKings shares jump 7% after company raises full-year guidance, as sports betting picks up
Newly public company DraftKings (DKNG) saw its stock surge shortly after the opening bell, after the company boosted its revenue forecast as sports betting charges ahead with the return of live events.
The company said it anticipates full-year revenue will be between $540 million and $560 million, implying revenue growth of as much as 30%. Previously, the company saw sales coming in between $500 million and $540 million.
DraftKings expects sales next year will accelerate even further. The company introduced 2021 revenue guidance of between $750 million and $850 million, suggesting revenue growth of 45% year-over-year.
In its fiscal third quarter through the end of September, DraftKings already saw engagement pick up on its platform. Monthly unique payers jumped 64% to more than 1 million.
“The resumption of major sports such as the NBA, MLB and the NHL in the third quarter, as well as the start of the NFL season, generated tremendous customer engagement,” CEO Jason Robins said in a statement.
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9:35 a.m. ET: Stocks open higher, Dow adds 200+ points
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:35 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): +24.44 points (+0.69%) to 3,561.45
8:30 a.m. ET: Producer prices rise for a sixth straight month in October as producers regain pricing power
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index (PPI) increased by 0.3% in October after a 0.4% rise in September, topping consensus economists’ expectations for a 0.2% rise, according to Bloomberg data.
A jump in prices for goods led the gain, as food prices especially jumped during the month, the BLS said in its report. Nearly three-fourths of the October advance was due to the rise in final demand food prices, which rose 2.4%.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the PPI rose 0.1%, or less than the 0.2% monthly rise expected. The PPI excluding food and energy rose 1.1% over last year, ticking down just slightly from September’s 1.2% rise.
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7:20 a.m. ET Friday: Stock futures jump, Dow futures add more than 200 points
The three major indices were on track to open higher Friday morning. Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:20 a.m. ET:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,556.25, up 23.75 points or 0.67%
Dow futures (YM=F): 29,187.00, up 195 points or 0.67%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,900.75, up 80.77 points or 0.68%
6:02 p.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures slightly higher
Here were the main moves in markets, as of 6:02 p.m. ET Wednesday evening:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,538.5, up 6 points or 0.17%
Dow futures (YM=F): 29,043.00, up 51 points or 0.18%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,857.00, up 37 points or 0.31%
A trader speaks on a phone outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) following Election Day in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
