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Stock Market News for Dec 3, 2020

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U.S. stock markets closed modestly higher on Wednesday as investors await fresh round of fiscal stimulus. Moreover, further positive news with regards to the COVID-19 vaccine also aided investors’ sentiment. The Dow and S&P 500 ended in the green while the Nasdaq Composite ended the day in red.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rallied 0.2%, closing at 29,883.79, continuing its 2-day winning run. Notably, 22 components of the 30-stock index ended in green while 8 finished the day in red. The blue-chip index has become green 4.7% year to date. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed the day at 12,349.37, down 0.1%, on the back of weak performance by large-cap technology stocks, reversing its gains from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, closing the day at 3,669.01, marking second successive day of gains. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) popped 3.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Notably, six out of eleven sectors of the benchmark index closed in the positive zone and five in the red.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 1.9% to 21.17. A total of 11.6 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.7 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.46-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.16-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.

Investors Await Fiscal Stimulus

In a joint statement, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the $908 billion COVID-19 relief bipartisan bill which he had rejected on Tuesday. The joint statement said that the bill should be used “as the basis for immediate bipartisan, bicameral negotiations.”

Further Positive COVID-19 Vaccine News

Further encouraging developments on the COVID-19 vaccine front lifted Wall Street modestly higher on Wednesday. The UK became the first country to approve Pfizer, Inc. (PFE - Free Report) and BioNTech SE’s (BNTX - Free Report) vaccine for emergency use. The UK Government said that the vaccine will be available in Britain from the next week. Consequently, shares of Pfizer rallied 3.5%. Notably, Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data

The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) for the week ending Nov 27, decreased by 0.7 million barrels per day from the previous week. However, crude oil inventories are above the five-year average by about 7%.

Per the Beige Book released by the U.S. Federal Reserve, most districts of the Fed characterized economic expansion as being “modest or moderate” from the prior period. The districts also reported that employment rose at a slow pace and the recovery was incomplete. Firms in most districts reported that input prices increased at a “modest to moderate” pace. The selling prices of final goods rose at a “slight to modest pace.”

ADP/Moody's Analytics reported that the U.S. private sector added 307,000 jobs in November, making it the smallest gain since July’s addition of 216,000. Data for October was revised upward to 404,000. The leisure and hospitality sector added 95,000 jobs while construction and manufacturers added 22,000 and 8,000 jobs, respectively.

Stocks That Have Made Headline

Waddell & Reed to be Acquired by Macquarie for $1.7B

Waddell & Reed Financial has inked an agreement to be acquired by Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management division of Sydney, Australia-based Macquarie Group. (Read More)

These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.

Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.

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