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Benchmarks hit fresh record highs on Friday as President-elect Joe Biden promised new fiscal aid following a weak December jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 56.84 points, or 0.2%, to close at 31,097.97 and the S&P 500 gained 20.89 points, or 0.6%, to close at 3,824.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 13,201.98, adding 134.50 points, or 1%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 3.6%, to close at 21.56. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for 1-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored decliners.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
On Friday, the Dow hit a new record and marked its fourth straight weeks of gains; while the S&P 500’s 0.6% rise helped it hit a new record high. Of the 11 major sectors of the broader index, seven ended in the positive with the consumer discretionary and real estate sector closing 1.8% and 1.1% higher, respectively. A 2.2% gain in The Coca-Cola Company (KO - Free Report) helped the Dow close higher, along with more than 1.8% gain in shares of Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) , salesforce.com, inc. (CRM - Free Report) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD - Free Report) . All the aforementioned stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Nasdaq also closed at a record high and continued its fourth straight weeks of gains. Baidu, Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) , Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI - Free Report) were among the highest winners of the index, closing 15.6%, 7.8% and 7.6% higher, respectively.
On Friday, the S&P 500 posted 82 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 509 new highs and 16 new lows.
US Economy Losses Jobs in December
American labor market continues to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Markets initially pulled back after the Labor Department reported that the economy lost jobs in December for the first time in eight months. Much of which was attributed to the resurge in coronavirus cases that hindered reopening plans and forced businesses to resort to more layoffs again. Restaurants and other businesses that rely on large crowds of customers were the ones with most layoff. However, job losses in leisure and hospitality sector and in private education were partially offset by gains in professional and business services, retail trade and construction in December.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that government and private sector shed 140,000 jobs in December compared to a gain of 35,000 per the consensus estimate. November’s nonfarm payrolls were revised upward to 336,000. Unemployment rate came in at 6.7%, same as the previous month but lower than the consensus estimate of 6.8%. The report also stated that average hourly earnings increased 0.78%, higher than November’s 0.3% rise and the consensus estimate of 0.2% gain.
The disappointing jobs data weighed on investors’ sentiment, however, during the second half of the session President-elect Joe Biden called for extra financial relief for Americans “now”. During the introduction of his nominees to head the Commerce Department and other agencies Biden said that he would be “laying out the groundwork” for a new coronavirus relief package in the next week.
Weekly Roundup
For the week ending Jan 8, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed 1.6%, 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The first trading week of the year began with a slump on Monday, however, stocks managed to trade north despite turmoil in Capitol Hill, mid-week. Delay in the procedural congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory in the Presidential race made trader feel jittery. Markets continued the weekly winning streak as expectations of more government aid cheered investors.
Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for Today
Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.4% per year.
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Image: Bigstock
Stock Market News for Jan 11, 2021
Benchmarks hit fresh record highs on Friday as President-elect Joe Biden promised new fiscal aid following a weak December jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 56.84 points, or 0.2%, to close at 31,097.97 and the S&P 500 gained 20.89 points, or 0.6%, to close at 3,824.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 13,201.98, adding 134.50 points, or 1%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 3.6%, to close at 21.56. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones for 1-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq favored decliners.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
On Friday, the Dow hit a new record and marked its fourth straight weeks of gains; while the S&P 500’s 0.6% rise helped it hit a new record high. Of the 11 major sectors of the broader index, seven ended in the positive with the consumer discretionary and real estate sector closing 1.8% and 1.1% higher, respectively. A 2.2% gain in The Coca-Cola Company (KO - Free Report) helped the Dow close higher, along with more than 1.8% gain in shares of Amgen Inc. (AMGN - Free Report) , salesforce.com, inc. (CRM - Free Report) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD - Free Report) . All the aforementioned stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Nasdaq also closed at a record high and continued its fourth straight weeks of gains. Baidu, Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) , Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI - Free Report) were among the highest winners of the index, closing 15.6%, 7.8% and 7.6% higher, respectively.
On Friday, the S&P 500 posted 82 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 509 new highs and 16 new lows.
US Economy Losses Jobs in December
American labor market continues to bear the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. Markets initially pulled back after the Labor Department reported that the economy lost jobs in December for the first time in eight months. Much of which was attributed to the resurge in coronavirus cases that hindered reopening plans and forced businesses to resort to more layoffs again. Restaurants and other businesses that rely on large crowds of customers were the ones with most layoff. However, job losses in leisure and hospitality sector and in private education were partially offset by gains in professional and business services, retail trade and construction in December.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that government and private sector shed 140,000 jobs in December compared to a gain of 35,000 per the consensus estimate. November’s nonfarm payrolls were revised upward to 336,000. Unemployment rate came in at 6.7%, same as the previous month but lower than the consensus estimate of 6.8%. The report also stated that average hourly earnings increased 0.78%, higher than November’s 0.3% rise and the consensus estimate of 0.2% gain.
The disappointing jobs data weighed on investors’ sentiment, however, during the second half of the session President-elect Joe Biden called for extra financial relief for Americans “now”. During the introduction of his nominees to head the Commerce Department and other agencies Biden said that he would be “laying out the groundwork” for a new coronavirus relief package in the next week.
Weekly Roundup
For the week ending Jan 8, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed 1.6%, 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively. The first trading week of the year began with a slump on Monday, however, stocks managed to trade north despite turmoil in Capitol Hill, mid-week. Delay in the procedural congressional confirmation of Joe Biden’s victory in the Presidential race made trader feel jittery. Markets continued the weekly winning streak as expectations of more government aid cheered investors.
Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for Today
Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.4% per year.
These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.
See these time-sensitive tickers now >>