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Stocks closed almost unchanged on Thursday after rebounding from early lows, as a jump in weekly jobless claims and little progress on another round of fiscal stimulus outweighed hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended the day in red, while the Nasdaq finished in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.2% or 69.55 points to end the day at 29,999.26. The S&P 500 lost 0.1% or 4.72 points to finish at 3,668.10.
Energy sector was the biggest gainer on the index but was dragged down by industrials. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 3.1%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) shed 1%. Seven out of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index closed in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.5% or 66.86 points to close at 12,405.81. The index bounced back from its Wednesday lows, when it saw its worst daily decline in six weeks. Shares of Apple, Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) gained 1.2%, while Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) increased 1.5%. Apple and Netflix each carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 5.1% to 23.41. A total of 10.3 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.49 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.27-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.66-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Investors Wait for Stimulus
The wait for another round of fiscal stimulus continued as markets closed on hopes that Congress will soon arrive to a decision. This dampened investors’ spirit again. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi somewhat raised hopes after she said on Thursday that bipartisan negotiations were on track and making “great progress” for another round of stimulus.
This to an extent raised hopes, helping markets pair the early losses. That said, Republicans and Democrats continue to debate over a liability waiver for businesses. Moreover, Democrats till Thursday continued to endorse a $908 billion aid package proposal. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff reportedly told other offices of other congressional leaders that senate Republicans won’t be supporting the measure.
Also, a rise in weekly unemployment benefits amid the resurgence in coronavirus cases weighed over hopes of a vaccination drive that could start as early as this week subject to approval from the FDA.
Economic Data
Weekly jobless claims in the first week of December touched almost a three-month high, owing to a jump in layoffs as COVID-19 cases continued to increase over the past month. Labor Department reported on Thursday that total jobless claims came in at 853,000, increase from 716,000 a week ago. Continuing jobless claims soared to 5.76 million, increasing 230,000 in November end.
Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in November, while core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy, advanced 0.2%.
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $17.7 billion in 2019 to a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
Image: Shutterstock
Stock Market News for Dec 11, 2020
Stocks closed almost unchanged on Thursday after rebounding from early lows, as a jump in weekly jobless claims and little progress on another round of fiscal stimulus outweighed hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended the day in red, while the Nasdaq finished in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.2% or 69.55 points to end the day at 29,999.26. The S&P 500 lost 0.1% or 4.72 points to finish at 3,668.10.
Energy sector was the biggest gainer on the index but was dragged down by industrials. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) gained 3.1%, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) shed 1%. Seven out of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index closed in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.5% or 66.86 points to close at 12,405.81. The index bounced back from its Wednesday lows, when it saw its worst daily decline in six weeks. Shares of Apple, Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) gained 1.2%, while Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) increased 1.5%. Apple and Netflix each carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 5.1% to 23.41. A total of 10.3 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.49 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.27-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.66-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.
Investors Wait for Stimulus
The wait for another round of fiscal stimulus continued as markets closed on hopes that Congress will soon arrive to a decision. This dampened investors’ spirit again. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi somewhat raised hopes after she said on Thursday that bipartisan negotiations were on track and making “great progress” for another round of stimulus.
This to an extent raised hopes, helping markets pair the early losses. That said, Republicans and Democrats continue to debate over a liability waiver for businesses. Moreover, Democrats till Thursday continued to endorse a $908 billion aid package proposal. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s staff reportedly told other offices of other congressional leaders that senate Republicans won’t be supporting the measure.
Also, a rise in weekly unemployment benefits amid the resurgence in coronavirus cases weighed over hopes of a vaccination drive that could start as early as this week subject to approval from the FDA.
Economic Data
Weekly jobless claims in the first week of December touched almost a three-month high, owing to a jump in layoffs as COVID-19 cases continued to increase over the past month. Labor Department reported on Thursday that total jobless claims came in at 853,000, increase from 716,000 a week ago. Continuing jobless claims soared to 5.76 million, increasing 230,000 in November end.
Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in November, while core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy, advanced 0.2%.
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $17.7 billion in 2019 to a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
See the pot stocks we're targeting >>